Quidditch Pitch
by kitkatfox
Summary: Everyone knows Hermione is an insufferable know-it-all. And she's now set her brain on learning to fly a broom, fear or no fear. Unfortunately, she's interupted in her private lesson on the quidditch pitch. By none other than Draco Malfoy.
1. The Beginnings of Flight

_Hello, not much chatting to do at this time, so I'll just leave with this fact that this was written to "go along" with my little drabble of a fic "Fatherly Advice" (though they don't both have to be read for understanding, they more just compliment each other). I am happy with it, and was encouraged to expand it, so enjoy!

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_**Quidditch Pitch**

_Chapter One: The Beginnings of Flight

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Another damn condescending smile. She absolutely couldn't stand them. Normally **_she_** gave other people that look. So when her two prats of friends tried to claim they knew more about something than her, she tried to tune them out. To prevent hexes from flying.

Hermione Granger was an insufferable know-it-all.

She knew it too. But she couldn't stop herself from trying to be the absolute expert on everything. She read, and re-read all she could to find out every piece of information possible.

And now her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley knew more about something than she. And was rubbing her nose in it. And it infuriated her.

"Oh, sorry, 'Mione. We forgot that you don't really understand Quidditch or flying." said Harry kindly. Ron nodded in agreement.

"Of course, you can't really learn about it from a book.. You have to have a real talent for it." added Ron, "And you aren't really any good at flying anyway." He paused a moment before saying with some awkwardness, "Well…you're afraid of it."

Hermione glared at him.

"You can learn anything from a book!"

"Not Quidditch." affirmed Harry. "Ron's right. Flying is something to **_do_**, not read about. But don't worry about it, Hermione; you can't know stuff about everything." She looked at them silently for a moment, before she murmured under her breath,

"Yes I can."

The school brooms were no where near as good as some of the students, especially Harry's Firebolt. But Hermione couldn't really ask her friend to borrow his broom without an explanation. And she didn't want to tell anyone about this particular expedition of hers.

It was late evening when she snuck out to the Quidditch pitch. She told Harry and Ron that she was going to the library to study. It was easy enough to break into the shed that held the Quidditch supplies and take a broom.

She walked out slowly onto the field, her eyes scanning the stands and two goal hoops rapidly. Stopping near the center and setting the broom down beside her, the brunette racked her brains for the first year flying instructions from Madam Hooch.

She stared down at the long wooden handle for moment before gradually putting her hand over it, palm down.

"Up." She whispered.

Nothing happened.

She let out a strange growl-like sound and stamped her foot.

"You stupid broom! Why must you listen to those two gits and not me!" she yelled, glaring down at the object.

From a small distance away, she heard a chuckle.

She glanced up sharply and met the grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. He walked forward and she could see he had a Firebolt over his shoulder and was wearing the official Slytherin Quidditch robes. She watched warily as he stepped closer and looked down at her pitiful broom before raising his eyes to meet hers again.

"Did you steal Weasley's cheap broom? Merlin, Granger, if you're going to snatch a broom, at least take Potter's or something. What is that? A Cleansweep?" He admonished. She frowned at him.

"I did not steal anyone's broom. That would be something a no good Slytherin like you would do! I borrowed this one from the school!"

"Ugh. Even worse than Weasley's. Though barely…" He murmured before he held his broom straight in front of him and slid a leg over the handle gracefully. Hermione watched, her eyes narrowed.

"I don't have a reason to own a broom." She said tersely. He smirked at her before kicking off and soaring up a few feet.

"Rumor has it Granger is afraid to fly." He replied. She crossed her arms and tossed her hair angrily.

"I am not!"

"Then let's see you fly." He said, making a sweeping gesture of invitation. Hermione sighed and looked down at her broom again. Slowly she put her arm straight out over it again.

"Up." She commanded, a little more firmly.

"Come on, Granger, where's that know-it-all tone? You have to _know_ that broom's going to jump into your hand!" Malfoy shouted from above her.

"Up!" she yelled down at the broom and it slammed up into her palm. She blinked, staggering for a moment before she smiled triumphantly.

"Geez Granger, with that expression you'd think you had become Minister of Magic. It's just a broom. You aren't even in the air!" Malfoy said from near her ear. She swatted at him, but he was already gone. "Granger, the only way you'd even touch me was if I was riding one of those Cleansweeps! Or maybe Weasley's broom." He said from farther away. "Going to fly tonight or what?"

"Yes!" she snapped before she threw one of her legs over the broom and settled herself on the handle. She had to admit though; the chairs in the library were much more comfortable.

"Okay Granger, if you want to actually get into the air, you have to kick off." Draco sneered.

"I know, I know!"

"Well, this is your first time, isn't it?" He asked rudely. She gave him a challenging look.

"You make it sound like shagging." She said, giving a little wicked smile. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't even think you would know that word, much less make a joke of it."

"But I am a know-it-all." She said smugly. He smirked.

"True. Except when it comes to flying."

"Which I am about to fix." She said, before she closed her eyes and kicked with her feet.

As she rocketed forward, Hermione let out a piercing shriek and bent forward, trying to hug the broom for dear life (and to prevent herself from falling off). She completely _hated_ flying! Unfortunately, it only made the broom go faster. And her screams grow louder.

She heard a whoosh to her left, and her broom jerked to a stop.

Cracking open her eyes, she sat up slowly and looked around to see Draco holding on to the end of her broom.

"Granger, if you really knew anything about flying, wouldn't you know that leaning forward makes the broom go faster? If I hadn't grabbed you, you would be almost to space by now. Lucky I'm on a faster broom. And a better flier." He said, giving her a prideful grin. She glared back.

"You can let go."

"Are you sure? Remember forward equals fast." He said condescendingly as she reached out to smack him. He jerked back sharply, letting go. "Don't touch me. Geez. All you have to do is ask." He clipped, flying back a couple feet. Hermione stared at him for a second before she glared and then flipped back around.

Adjusting her position to a little bit more comfortable one, she leaned over ever so slightly and the broom glided forward smoothly a couple feet.

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of this…" she murmured. There was no smart reply and she glanced around for her companion (if you even could call him that).

He had landed back on the ground and was making a large trunk hover onto the field with a wand in one hand, his broom in the other.

"What are you doing?" she called down to him. He looked briefly up at her before opening the top of it.

"I came out here to practice, and despite your terrible flying, I'm going to attempt it anyway." He looked up at her for a second before he suddenly grinned and leaned over, and she could hear the sounds of straps being undone.

Immediately two black objects soared into the air and made a beeline for the brunette. She yelped and ducked barely in time, before doing an awkward spin in the air to avoid the other one. She could hear Malfoy laughing below her and gave him a furious look.

"You did that on purpose!"

"I should practice avoiding bludgers too." He said casually, before he waved a small golden object at her. "Want to time me, Granger? Bet I can beat Potter." He bragged before tossing the tiny ball into the air.

Tiny wings snapped out and fluttered swiftly before the snitch flew higher and then disappeared. Malfoy was on his broom and in the air in an instant, soaring up after it.

He stopped near Hermione and gave her a brief smile.

"Might want to keep an eye out for those bludgers." He said before shooting off again after the snitch. She looked around fearfully for the black balls. Two specks were heading towards her and she looked up to where she could see Malfoy flying.

Taking a deep breath, she bent forward sharply and the broom blasted up after Draco. So far, she was not liking this flying experience.

"Granger, what are you doing?" demanded Draco when he noticed her attempting to follow him. Key word being attempting on that pitiful broom.

"Trying to make sure you get hit by these flaming bludgers as much as I do!" she shouted at him. The nasty obstacles weren't far behind and Hermione stopped sharply, letting them fly towards Draco. He turned easily and avoided them, and stopped to face Hermione.

"You know, you are making it _very_ difficult to catch the snitch!" He snapped, before he started to turn and go after it again. Hermione flew in front of him, cutting him off.

"Then would you please get rid of these bludgers!" she questioned heatedly, "After that I'll let you do whatever the bloody hell you want!"

"Ooh, Granger, watch your language." He teased, "Why don't you just get rid of the things yourself?"

She looked at him a moment, her expression unreadable. Then she looked away, muttering,

"This broom is almost impossible to control. I can't turn it very well. Or move fast enough to catch the bludgers." She said dejectedly. He looked at her silently for a moment before moving forward sharply and snatching her around the waist, pulling her off her broom and onto his.

The old Cleansweep fell with a thud onto the ground beside the trunk.

Hermione let out a squeal as she landed on the end of Malfoy's broom, both her legs dangling off one side. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"W-what did you do that for?" she asked, her breath trembling. He rolled his eyes at her.

"You can't experience flying properly on some ancient broom like that." He said distastefully, wrinkling his nose slightly. She looked at him quietly, not moving a muscle. He sighed and let go of her. "Actually, in order to fly this while you're on it, I'm going to need you to move back closer to me, so I can grab the handle without you falling off." He continued, his tone businesslike.

She was surprised. For someone who had, even recently, found the idea of her being near him repulsive, he was certainly acting strange. But she did want to understand flying properly.

Shyly, Hermione scooted backwards on the broom, until she felt her back hit Draco's chest. She froze as his arms came around on either side of her, his upper arm brushing against her shoulders, hands gripping the handle in front of her.

"Don't make any sudden movements, okay?" muttered Malfoy distractedly, glancing around for the snitch. Hermione flinched as his breath tickled her ear. His head was right by her shoulder and she could feel his chest rubbing against her back lightly when he moved to guide the broom's actions.

"Sure…" she whispered.

But she let out a shriek as he moved the broom forward abruptly, her body turning sharply inwards and hands moving from the broom's handle to Draco's neck. He came to a stop and looked at her in surprise.

"You really don't like flying, do you?" He asked frankly, no trace of mockery in his voice. She nodded miserably and he gave her a sincere smile, "Don't worry; you won't fall off my broom."

Though she gave him a wary look, she didn't remove her arms from around his neck as they flew forward again. She watched his steel grey eyes search the sky, a slight frown on his face.

It wasn't the normal nasty look he directed frequently at her and her friends, but a softly frustrated look that made his eyebrows furrow slightly. A light smile touched her face before she heard something whiz past her ear.

Giving a loud yell, she ducked down against Draco's chest, closing her eyes tightly. She could feel it vibrate with the blonde's laugh and cracked one eye open to look up at him. He was smirking down at her and raised an eyebrow.

"The bludgers, Granger? Remember those?" He asked with amusement. She blushed faintly and looked down, her eyes falling on the Slytherin emblem on his robes.

She lifted one of her arms off his neck and gently traced the serpent with a finger before raising her eyes to his.

"Why are you being nice to me?" she inquired, her voice soft in sharp contrast to her hazel eyes that burned into his. He tilted his head and leaned back slightly on the broom, letting go with one hand. His expression was pondering as his eyes flickered skyward.

"Hm, Granger, I can honestly say I don't know. I know I was planning on just insulting you until you left the field when I first came out here but…" He paused, meeting her eyes briefly. "But when I saw how determined you were to try and understand flying, I just…felt that I should help you." There was a long pause before he gave her a familiar arrogant smirk, "Of course, I love any chance to show up Potter and Weasley."

Slowly her mouth spread into a grin and the girl giggled. She looked at him earnestly.

"You know, you aren't so bad when you aren't trying to look down your nose at everyone." She said.

"You should talk. You have a conceited attitude about everything. You think you know everything there is to know about everything!" Malfoy retorted heatedly. His expression was now guarded and Hermione sighed, looking back at his robes.

"Yes. But…" She looked back at him with a somewhat defeated glint to her eyes and mumbled, "I don't."

"What?"

"I don't know everything. And…thank you for trying to help me to learn what little I can about flying. I understand you have to practice though. You can just set me down and I'll go back to the castle. I won't mention this to anyone." She murmured. He stared at her, astonished, before scoffing and shaking his head.

"Nah. You haven't had the full experience yet. Can't send you back when you haven't learned much of anything." He said, leaning forward again to grip the handle, his chest and shoulders brushing against her once more. He looked at her quickly, smiling again, "I guess you can just stay in that position."

Hermione's face turned pink as she realized during the entire conversation, she had still had one arm slung around his neck.

Though that didn't cause her to remove it.

In fact, when Draco sped forward, her other arm also flew around the Slytherin's neck, and her face buried itself in his chest instinctively. Another confident grin appeared on Malfoy's face as he circled the field rapidly, his eyes searching for the snitch. He maneuvered intermittently to avoid bludgers, but with his Firebolt, they were hardly a problem.

Hermione seriously considered the fact that she might be dreaming. There were a couple pieces of evidence to support this claim.

First of all, she was flying.

Secondly, she was flying with Draco Malfoy.

Thirdly, he was not being a complete prat.

In fact, he was being rather pleasant.

She crossed her arms a bit behind Draco's head to pinch herself on the arm.

Nothing happened, except the blonde male gave her a strange look as she flinched and let out a small squeak. She hadn't meant to pinch so hard.

"What are you doing?" he asked with raised eyebrow. She shook her head when he suddenly looked away and let out an excited whoop.

Hermione positively screamed as Draco leaned over sharply, almost crushing her under his larger frame. The broom rocketed forward, and he lifted an arm, fingers outstretched.

Swiveling her head slightly, the Gryffindor could see a flash of gold a couple yards ahead, and realized that he was after the snitch.

"What the bloody hell?" he said, pulling up sharply and Hermione flew hard against him, giving a cry of surprise. He looked at her quickly before he glanced around the field again. "Where did it go?"

She sagged against him slightly, letting out a ragged breath as the stress and emotions of the evening hit her in a sudden, hard rush. He looked down; his penetrating eyes trying to meet her's as the closest thing to a worried expression Hermione had ever seen appeared on his aristocratic face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice soft. She raised her head so she could look at him.

"Yes…this is just…so…draining." She murmured, her exhausted voice a testimony to her statement. Draco sighed heavily, his eyes flickering around the pitch one last time before he started heading for the ground. "What are you doing?"

"Enough lessons for today." He clipped, his tone sharp. She didn't respond as he touched down, and helped her off before dropping the broom onto the ground. "Time for you to go back to your dormitory." He said firmly. She looked at him a moment, her expression thoughtful. Draco shifted uncomfortably and glanced skywards. "You know where the snitch went?" He asked innocently, in a blatant attempt to lighten the mood. Hermione shrugged and also gave the air above her a quick scan.

"Nope. It disappeared when you tried to grab it."

"I know. It's actually rather bizarre…" He said and Hermione scuffed her shoe in the dirt, biting her lip. Draco looked back at her and smiled brightly.

"Well, see you later, Granger. Though don't expect any special treatment because of this." Her head snapped up at this and she looked at him, her eyes darkening.

"Of course not. Must keep up the charade in front of your nasty friends." She quipped.

"Don't call my friends nasty!" He said, glaring now. She met the fiery gaze with one of her own.

"Oh? You've called mine worse!" She replied crossly. He was taken aback and she continued easily, "You are just a disgusting, egotistical, rich little brat!" She shouted, the calm atmosphere dissipating as the two returned to their normal attitudes towards each other..

"Your one to talk: you insecure, mousy, little know-it-all!" He returned, "Always worried about become useless, so you study your stupid brains out to be someone worth knowing! You know why? Because you're a nobody to begin with!" He hissed and Hermione took a step back, the words hitting true.

Tears appeared and she wiped them away with a furious gesture. She met his gaze with her own icy one.

"Well, at least I'm trying to impress strangers. You live your life trying to make sure you don't make **_daddy_** mad." She retorted, "Making friends with people who are obviously on the wrong side, just so you can be powerful and mysterious. Do you even agree with their ideals? Or are you just hanging onto your father's coattails!"

"We all have to choose sides." He replied coolly, "I've chosen who I believe is strongest, and you've chosen who you believe is strongest to stand by."

She heaved a great sigh, relaxing slightly as some of her anger drained away, replaced by gloom.

"Why can't we all just get along?" She said wretchedly.

"The world would be boring without conflict." Malfoy said with a smirk. She looked at him, confused. "Come on, Granger, you have to admit, you've even come to secretly enjoy our little arguments."

"Maybe. When they don't end in my friends puking slugs." She admitted reluctantly, giving him a half-smile.

"Or you punching me in the nose."

"I rather enjoyed that one. And not even secretly." She said coyly and Draco rolled his eyes before her gaze hardened. "But there is a difference between arguments and the killing of innocents for some superior mind-set!" Her voice rose at the end as she remembered the poor muggles back before fourth year. The Death Eaters just playing with them like personal toys.

"What mind-set is this?"

"That purebloods are better than everyone else, and deserve to rule!"

"How do you think great kings and emperors conquered in the past? Hell, Granger, how do you think we became the dominant species on Earth!" demanded Draco. She stared at him in shock.

"What? That is not the same!"

"Maybe not exactly, but it's similar enough."

"You aren't going to make me change to your side." She said hesitantly, confused about where this philosophical "discussion" was going. He threw his head back and laughed, his rage gone.

"Yeah, Granger, and you aren't going to convince me to support Potter or anything." He said, his eyes sparkling as he met her's. "But do we really have to consider who we should be supporting right now? I was just teaching you to fly Granger." He said with some exasperation, "I'm not going to kill you or anything. I won't even hex you."

She smiled timidly at him.

"I know. I find your loyalty to your friends and beliefs admirable, even if they are a bit off." She murmured, stepping closer to him, her anger also disappearing, replaced by something quite different.

"Yeah. Well, don't expect me to join Gryffindor or anything." He said indifferently.

"No. That wouldn't suit you. You are a clever, conniving serpent." She replied, her voice low as she took another step closer. Draco looked at her, but her expression was unreadable. She reached out, her hand falling on the badge of Slytherin on his robes. She caressed the snake gently. "They aren't really that bad."

"Who?"

"Slytherins…" She said, now so close that her feet were standing practically in the same spot as his. She was pressing slightly up against him and he regarded her curiously.

"Slytherins?" He repeated.

"Well, at least **_you_** aren't that bad…" She said, a little smirk appearing on her face. Draco found it strangely attractive.

Just like most of the things Hermione Granger had been doing and saying tonight.

Hermione vaguely wondered if arguing turned her on or something as she slowly pushed up on her toes, placing her hands on Malfoy's shoulders. She had never been so attracted to anyone in her life. She watched him carefully for any signs of rejection as she neared his lips. There were none.

When she kissed him, it was light at first, until one of Draco's arms fell to her waist, and the other buried itself in her hair, using the tangled brown locks to pull her closer. As he deepened the kiss, she slid her arms up around his neck and pressed even closer to him, a strange warmth curling in her stomach.

When they broke apart, she considered him silently. He took in her now swollen and reddened lips along with her gleaming eyes and gave her a cocky grin along with a wink.

"So, same time tomorrow night, right?" He asked, "You can forget the Cleansweep this time. We'll just stick with my Firebolt."

"I dunno, maybe I'll try stealing Harry's broom next time…" She said wickedly. He shook his head.

"No way, Granger, I'm not teaching anyone on Potter's bloody broom." He protested airily. Hermione smiled demurely.

"Okay. Then we'll just share yours." She replied sweetly. He had to try very hard to think of the obvious metaphor that came to mind with this discussion. He didn't want to increase the sexual tension any more with this witch he had dislike so much until recently. He chose a carefully neutral answer.

"Sounds good…"

He had to release her as she pulled back from him and turned to go back indoors. After a couple paces, she stopped and looked at him over her shoulder.

"You know I expect another stimulating argument, right?" She asked, an eyebrow arched. He smiled at her.

"No problems there."

She stopped completely, flipping all the way around and crossing her arms.

"Oh, and Draco, I do expect to learn something about **_flying_**." She said firmly. He smirked at her, suddenly striding forward until he stopped in front of her. She was about to demand what he was doing when he snatched at something by her ear.

He showed her his hand, with the snitch in its clutches and winked at her, saying,

"Oh, you will."

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_So? Like it? Didn't like it? Thought it was the worst piece of fanfiction you've ever laid eyes on? Tell me in a review, or I'll never know!_


	2. The Consequences of Flight

_So a couple pieces of information first..._

First of all: You'll notice I've continued this fic (obviously), so thank you for the fantastic reviews that encouraged me to do so! Keep them up if you still want this story to keep going!

Second of all: The first chapter was revised slightly (as of 1/23/06), with some added details. Nothing vital, so if you don't want to reread it, or don't have the time, you won't miss anything important. It's just a little more...stuffage

Thirdly: I have "uped" the rating. This isn't because anything terribly bad happens in this chapter, besides some cussing and slight innuendo, but I increased it from "T" to "M" so I have the option. There is a good chance this fanfic will become a little racy (especially compared to my other ones), as I'm experimenting, and am of age to do a little more, so be warned. Though I'll warn you more as we get closer to actual problems. And nothing will be too explicit.  
  
_Fourthly: Enjoy!

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_**Quidditch Pitch**  
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Chapter Two: The Consequences of Flight

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_What a bloody lying prat!_

Hermione couldn't be more furious.

Sure, why should she trust the words of a certain slimy git, who had never so much as given her less than a disgusted look before last night? Why should she even be disappointed? It wasn't like she was looking forward to another flying lesson riddled with bickering and snide remarks.

_And sexual tension _whispered her mind.

What? Where had that come from? She stopped her pacing, a light blush appearing on her face as she recalled the last ten minutes of her evening with Malfoy. She hadn't even a fragment of an idea as to why she had kissed Malfoy.

She had kissed bloody Draco Malfoy.

Hell, she had _enjoyed _kissing bloody Draco Malfoy.

"Oh God…" she murmured, sinking down to the grass, and putting her head in her hands. " I can't believe I'm here…again. What is wrong with me? I lied to Ron and Harry…again." She sighed and drew her knees up against her chest. "My two best friends, and I lie about meeting an enemy. About learning to fly on a broom from an enemy…" She continued bitterly. "I could just ask Ron or Harry to teach me…" She paused, thinking about it a second. "Okay…probably Harry."

"You'd rather Potter help you than me?" came a cold voice, a sour edge to the tone. Hermione looked up to Malfoy standing above her, broom being held lightly in his right hand. He was in normal robes, instead of the Quidditch ones from the night before. And he was looking down at her with that familiar look of distain. She gazed back suspiciously.

"I thought you weren't going to show up."

"As much as I wanted to stay in my dormitory, a Malfoy always keeps his word." He said stiffly, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. It took her a moment to realize he was back to acting like she was dirt on his shoe. With a heavy sigh, she got to her feet and faced him, crossing her arms.

"So should I go get another broom? Or better yet, just go ask Harry to teach me?"

That got a rise out of him, and his expression changed to indignation.

"No." He snapped, "You are not learning from bloody Potter." He let the broom in his right hand drop, before commanding it up and climbing onto it. Then he glanced at Hermione and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Going to come learn or what?"

He couldn't believe he had come back. After Granger had left the night before, he'd regained his senses and realized that he had just had a mudblood on his broom. With him.

And then she had _snogged_ him. And he had snogged her back. The Gryffindor Lioness, as she was so fondly referred to as by the Slytherins. One of the Golden Trio. He hadn't told anyone, of course, and had even tried to convince himself that he was not coming back tonight for another lesson.

But of course he did.

Part of it was what he had told Granger, that a Malfoy always kept his word.

Of course, he also was a bit curious as to what would happen tonight.

_Don't forget that sexual attraction flitting around _crooned a voice in his head.

"Fuck." He whispered under his breath and Hermione blinked, hearing it.

"Excuse me?" she asked, thinking he was talking to her. He blinked and stared at her for a moment.

She wasn't utterly repulsive physically.

_Stop it._

"Are you getting on the broom or what Granger?" He snapped, and she took a deep breath before nodding and walking over, sitting sideways on the stick in front of Draco. "Hold on." He muttered, leaning forward to grab the handle tightly. She felt her back against his chest and a warm feeling crept through her. As he kicked off lightly, soaring gently into the air, she moved closer to him, her arms rising to his neck.

He smiled automatically at the nice feeling of her skin touching his.

And there was the attraction thing again. The one that was not suppose to be there. The one that he needed to get rid of. He had to think of something fast, before losing all intelligent thought.

"Okay, Granger, this is a lesson, so I'm not doing all the flying." He said, halting the broom high in the air. She looked at him warily. "You're going to have to let go of me and hold onto the broom so you can steer. Okay?"

She let out a squeak that he assumed was supposed to be a sort of agreement before slowly lowering her arms, turning away from him and reaching for the handle, clasping it tightly. He let go and leaned back slightly, so she would have control.

"Alright, now you have to lean forward slightly so we'll go forward. Not too far, and slowly." She obeyed, but badly, as she leaned a little too far forward a little too fast. The broom went farther and faster than Draco had expected, and his arms went around her waist, partly to keep himself on the broom, and partly to keep her from sliding off.

The heat flew through both of them quickly and Hermione sat up, stopping the broom and turning to meet Malfoy's grey eyes. The molten silver stared straight into her chocolate brown and she swallowed thickly. This was not what was supposed to be happening.

Draco felt the arousal rush through him as she straightened up, scooting back against him roughly. Her warm eyes sought out his and he tried very hard to resist the urge to kiss her harshly, and land his broom so he could drag her away and shag her senseless.

He forced himself to remember this was Hermione bloody Granger. The mudblood, for Merlin's sake. But all he could concentrate on was the way her soft warm body felt against his and how her eyes were so innocent, yet fierce.

Hermione blushed faintly as she felt Malfoy's excitement against her arse, trying to make herself move forward.

But she didn't. She tried to logically reason that it was because the broom might tip forward. But she was also exited, and she knew it. She turned even more, bringing her hands to rest on his chest.

Almost the moment Draco felt those small hands on his chest, he leaned forward sharply and kissed her. She was immediately compliant, and they both maneuvered easily on the broom, so Hermione was pulled even closer to Draco, her chest against his. His mouth was demanding against hers, and she opened it quickly, another thrill going through her as his tongue met hers.

When they pulled apart, both were breathing heavily. Malfoy took in Hermione's flushed face and red swollen lips and thought very hard about the possibility of landing and dragging her off to shag somewhere.

"Hey? What's going on up there?"

There were a couple whooshes of brooms and Hermione glanced down to see familiar colors soaring towards her and Malfoy.

"Fuck." Draco murmured for the second time that night and Hermione shrank away burying her face in the Slytherin's chest, trying to hide herself as a group of crimson and gold clad Quidditch players flew up to them.

The pale blonde hair was recognized immediately by the captain of the team.

"Malfoy! What are you doing here? Didn't someone tell you that the field was reserved for Gryffindor tonight?" asked Harry Potter with distaste. Malfoy rolled his eyes, trying not to think about the fact that Potter's best friend was practically attached to him.

"Oh hell, Potter, has it suddenly become against the rules for me to fly out here? And it's not if I study your bloody practice schedule."

Harry's eyes narrowed as he noticed the girl on the broom with Malfoy, though he didn't recognize her in the shadowed light, most of her hidden against Draco's chest.

"Malfoy, this field is for practicing Quidditch, not seducing students." said the famous Gryffindor sternly.

"I wasn't seducing her." Malfoy said indignantly, remembering who was sitting on the broom with him. Though he conveniently forgot what they had been doing before Potter had arrived with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Oh just sod off Malfoy!" snapped Ron from near Harry, "Before we hex you off the field and embarrass you in front of your newest piece of ass."

Malfoy had to abruptly wrap his arms around Hermione and keep her against him, as she squeaked angrily, about to give Ron a piece of her mind.

"Shhh." He warned quietly in her ear, "They don't know it's you right now…be quiet and we might just get out of this." He turned his attention back to Potter and Weasely. "Right, Weasel. At least I'm getting some while you have to wank off." He said smugly, releasing Hermione to grab the broom's handle and start to glide towards the ground. Harry had to fly in front of Ron to stop him from attacking Malfoy, shaking his head.

"It's not worth it, Ron."

Draco smiled as he neared the ground, knowing he was about to sneak off the Quidditch field with Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Lioness and Potty and Weasel's best friend. Maybe he could actually shag her…that would at least piss off the two gits.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side tonight as he passed another vibrant redhead.

"Hermione!" called the perpetrator and the brunette winced, recognizing her best girl friend's voice. Draco cursed for the third time that night as Ginny flew closer, blinking as Hermione straightened up and gave her a sheepish look. "What are you doing?"

"_Hermione?_" Ron shrieked, astonished, flying down quickly, Harry right behind him. Hermione bit her lip as she felt Draco sigh from behind her.

"Hullo you guys!" she said with false cheer. Ginny raised an eyebrow, while Ron let out a sort of strangled roar, and Harry just stared at her, glancing at Malfoy once or twice, as if to verify that Hermione Granger was sitting on Draco Malfoy's broom.

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded the angry redhead. Malfoy immediately rolled his eyes.

"Oh great Merlin, Weasley, it isn't like you caught us snogging." He responded quickly, without thinking. Hermione's eyes widened.

"Actually." Harry interjected, his voice low and bitter, "We did. You were snogging when we came out here." His darkened green eyes were hurt, betrayed, with a bit of anger simmering.

"What did you do to Hermione!" demanded Ron, his wand out and pointed at Malfoy. Well, with the position Hermione had on the broom, unless Ron was aiming directly for Malfoy's face, whatever he cast would hit her.

"Granger? I didn't do anything."

"Okay. Let me rephrase into smaller, most understandable words. WHY IS HERMIONE ON YOUR BLOODY BROOM?" yelled Ron, his broom moving forward slightly, as if reading his aggression.

"Ron…calm down." Hermione said quietly, "I…Malfoy…we…well, I wanted to try out flying, so I came here last night with a school broom and started trying to…well, fly. Then-"

"Obviously then Malfoy here did something horrible that made you think you had to fly around and _snog _him!"

"Um…Harry?" said Katie Bell, one of the Chasers. Harry turned on his broom to look at the rest of his team.

"What?" he asked, with some irritation.

"It's just…are we going to practice tonight?" asked the girl hesitantly. Harry sighed heavily, giving Hermione another glance before turning to fully face the Gryffindor team, minus Ron and Ginny.

"Yes we are." He looked back at Hermione over his shoulder, "Hermione, you better go wait in the common room. Ron and I will talk to you there." He paused, giving Ron a firm look and saying harshly, "Later."

Hermione nodded meekly as Ron grumbled, but flew over to one of the goalposts as the team got into formation. Ginny gave Hermione a tiny smile before going to join Katie and the other chaser. Harry was about to call down to one of the members still on the ground to release the bludgers and snitch when he noticed Malfoy still hadn't moved, and consequently, neither had Hermione.

He gave the Slytherin a very dark look, saying threateningly,

"Malfoy, get off this field right now. And don't fool around with Hermione. Or whatever the hell you two were doing." He flashed Hermione a grim look before nodding to the student on the ground.

Draco flew back down to the ground, and Hermione slid off the moment they touched down, not allowing Malfoy to help her at all. She started walking purposefully towards the castle, ignoring the fact that Draco was following her.

Unfortunately, he caught up to her easily.

"Dammit Granger, slow down. Don't you dare walk away from me!"

"Excuse me?" she snapped, spinning around, "I shouldn't walk away from you? I missed the part where we should even be talking to each other anymore!"

"Good lord, Granger, it isn't that big of deal."

"Isn't…that…big- Malfoy, I _lied_ to my two best friends. I told them, last night and tonight, that I was studying in the library."

"And they didn't tell you they were practicing tonight. There. You're even."

"What?" she asked, confused

"They didn't tell you about the Quidditch practice, just like you didn't."

"Oh honestly, Malfoy. Ron and Harry rarely mention practices to me when I'm studying in the library. I don't do Quidditch, remember? That's what got me into this mess in the first place! I should have just left well enough alone!"

They were still walking, and had almost reached the front doors of Hogwarts, until Draco grabbed her arm, tugging her to a stop. He looked down at her, frowning slightly.

"You shouldn't have to apologize to you friends for trying to learn something new." He said, his voice even. She blinked before tossing her head.

"I'm not going to apologize for that. But I will have to apologize for lying."

"So say you're sorry for not really being in the library." Draco said, as if it was the most obvious thing to do. Hermione scoffed.

"That's not going to fix any of this. I might have been able to do that if I was flying by myself. Maybe even if I was just flying with you, but remember Malfoy, Harry and Ron saw me…" She trailed off, not meeting his grey eyes.

"Snogging? It isn't that big of a deal." He sneered. Hermione put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Maybe not to you, and maybe I'd be able to talk my way out of this if I hadn't kissed DRACO MALFOY! Slytherin pureblood extraordinaire!" She shrieked, before turning around sharply and flouncing into Hogwarts. Draco stood still a moment before he shook himself and chased after her.

"Granger! You think I _wanted_ to kiss you!" He demanded, his strides fast and long to keep up with her quick pace.

"You could have fooled me." She replied, still walking towards the Gryffindor dormitories.

"I don't know how I ended up snogging you, but I would hardly say I enjoyed it!"

She stopped, causing him to almost run into her before she flipped around sharply, her gaze fierce.

"I would definitely say you enjoyed it." She hissed, and Malfoy was taken aback. She continued, "But if you want to justify this for your bias little morals, I don't care. In fact, stay away from me! I don't want anything to do with you!" She finished furiously, about to turn away when Draco's grabbed her by her arms, pulling her closer to him.

"You enjoyed it too." He said shortly, looking directly at her with a smoldering gaze before he released her and disappeared down the hall.

Hermione stood in shock, trembling slightly from the high emotions. It was true of course.

She had enjoyed it.

And that's what scared her the most. More than Harry and Ron's wrath combined. The idea that she could actually not find Draco Malfoy utterly repulsive. A disgusting little ferret. That she actually was attracted to him. More than merely attracted, if their earlier antics were any proof. She had told Malfoy to stay away from her, and it was for the best.

But could she stay away from him?

* * *

_Well, there's your continuation. If you want another chapter, you'll have to let me know. Otherwise I'm leaving it. I know where I'm going, but I could easily work on something else, so please do inform me if you want another chapter on this fanfic._  



	3. The Switching of Teachers

_Okay then, I know this chapter is a little short, but I've been really busy. Yet I felt that I had to give you lovely readers something. Thanks for all the wonderfully touching reviews, and keep 'em coming!

* * *

_**  
Chapter Three: The Switching of Teachers (...and Lessons?)**

Hermione could just barely recall with some fondness when she could actually breathe normally.

Now, she was either sighing heavily, or taking a large breath to rehearse explaining things to Harry and Ron.

Well, mostly Harry, as Ron would be furious no matter what, and unless Harry could calm him down, the fiery redhead would kill Malfoy by morning.

She glanced at the full length mirror hanging on the wall between her and Lavender Brown's bed. Taking her eighth deep breath that evening, she pretended she was speaking to her two best friends. Truly of course, it was mostly Harry.

"Well…I just really wanted to learn to fly. Ron and you are usually awfully busy, so I went to try by myself. Malfoy was just…offering. He didn't threaten me or anything." She forced a chuckle, "It was strange really…he was absolutely charming. To _me_." She paused, trying to gauge her best friend's reactions. Ron's was easy, and she imitated it in a screech a couple octaves lower than her own.

"'But Malfoy? How can you trust him!'" she mocked, sighing again afterwards. Ron was so predictable. And obnoxious. Harry was a little more difficult. She pursed her lips as she tried to think about what the famous teenager would say to her…

* * *

"Why did you just try asking us? The worst we would've said is we were busy. If we even said that. You've never really been on a broom before, so I don't understand how you could have thought you going out on one by yourself was such a great idea!" admonished Harry, his speech being very close to what Hermione had approximated. He sounded rather like a stern father. This was unfortunate, as Hermione had never really considered him to be anywhere near a father figure.

She had enough of those.

The twins, (a little more mischievous, but fatherly nonetheless) Arthur Weasely, Dumbledore, not to mention her biological father. The last thing she needed was someone she considered…

Well. Not a father type figure.

"Harry, I just…" she trailed off, not sure what she was trying to justify now. Harry gave her a cool look, holding his hand up to cut off Ron again. The Weasley spluttered furiously, but remained quiet.

"If Malfoy was being nice to you, wouldn't you find it rather suspicious? And I have no idea why it would cause you to snog him within a single day." clipped Harry.

"Yeah, Hermione! Come on, it's _Malfoy_!" Ron said, putting in his two cents. That he had been putting in repeating for the past half hour.

She ignored another one of Ron's normal responses and focused her attention on Harry. Somehow she had to explain this to him. She couldn't have him think less of her. Or think she was interested in Draco Malfoy. But he also couldn't think she was…a slut or something.

"Something just…clicked for a moment. It was an accident." She muttered pitifully.

"Your lips just sort of accidentally fell on his?" Ron yelped, indignant. Harry was quiet. Hermione rethought the parental-role thing. Perhaps Ron was a bit more fatherly…

Her father sure freaked out about boys like that.

Harry was more like her mother, if that made any sense. Quiet and pondering.

In some ways it was strange, but in others, it was almost…comforting.

"I'll kill him." growled the redhead and Hermione sighed.

"Ronald, there's no need to be so…_possessive_." She said, with a suggestive raise of her eyebrows. Ron blushed madly, and Harry sent his male friend disapproving looks before looking back at Hermione.

"Okay. So you claim this thing with Malfoy was an accident."

"Yes."

"So…it'll never happen again? You two are back to-"

"Enemies. I promise Harry." She interjected, almost desperately. He stared at her a moment, before sighing and leaning back on the chair he was sitting in. Ron looked from Hermione to Harry.

"You aren't going to buy into that so easily, are you, Harry?"

"Are you saying I'm lying to you Ronald!" squeaked Hermione resentfully. Ron glanced at her in surprise.

"No, of course not." He replied easily, as if the idea hadn't even crossed his mind. It probably hadn't. Harry shrugged.

"There isn't much else we can do. We'll just have to…let her figure out this thing on her own." He looked at her again, with those piercing green eyes, "But don't lie to us again, okay 'Mione?" He insisted, his voice low. Hermione gulped.

"Of course not…"

"Good." He suddenly smiled brightly, and looked at Ron. "Interested in a game of Wizard's Chess?"

"Sure, mate. But you know I'll beat you!" Ron exclaimed, jumping up to retrieve his special set Hermione and Harry had both bought him one Christmas. Harry took the opportunity to look at Hermione seriously.

"You'll be okay with Malfoy, right?" He asked, "I trust you Hermione, and I trust that you can think for yourself. I mean, you are the cleverest witch of Hogwarts." He said, giving her a slight smile before resorting back to his straight face, "But surely you know better than to try anything with that ferret."

"I do, Harry. I do. And I'm sorry I lied to _you_." She said, looking at him directly. He smiled, understanding the inflection on the 'you'. Hermione smiled back.

"Okay, come on Harry, help me set up!" said Ron excitedly, appearing with the chess set. The brunette grinned at the two boys and grabbed a book, starting to read as they played a couple rounds.

* * *

Hermione groaned loudly as she tripped over something and fell with a crash to the floor. She could feel the hard, square object poking her bum, rather uncomfortably, and pulled it out, glancing at it.

Some Herbology book. Opening the cover and checking it, she discovered the volume of knowledge belonged to none other than Neville Longbottom.

"Ugh…figures." She grumbled, struggling to get to her feet. She had been walking on her to Arithmancy class on her own, when the obstacle in the middle of the hallway had caused her to come to an abrupt sitting position on the floor.

She was certainly going to be sore tomorrow.

She tried to get to her feet once more, but was unsuccessful as her overstuffed bag had her falling back down on her arse.

"Having problems, Granger?" asked a familiar sneering voice. Hermione let out an exasperated sound before even glancing up at the blonde.

"Sod off Malfoy." She snapped. He arched an eyebrow.

"Said so coldly for one, who, just the other day had her lips firmly-"

"Malfoy, perhaps you didn't hear me the first time. Kindly. Sod. OFF!" she said, ending in an angry yell. He frowned at her for a second before reaching down and grasping her shoulders firmly, pulling her up.

She stumbled slightly, directly into his chest. He smirked at her, not seeming to be surprised in the least.

"Should I sod off now?" He murmured, and Hermione glanced up at him.

Big mistake.

She was faced with his sterling colored eyes, gazing down at her with intense interest, and she swallowed thickly.

How did she get herself into these fixes?

"Malfoy…" she started, and he raised his eyebrows, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"So it's Malfoy again, huh? I liked it better when you said my first name…" he muttered, leaning closer. She tried as hard as she could to force herself to step back.

And, of course, she was unsuccessful.

If anything, she could have sworn she moved a couple millimeters closer.

"I am not going to call you by your first name like we're _friends_!" she hissed, glad that her words were still at least her own. Even if her body was betraying her.

"When are we going to have another flying lesson?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Never! _We_ are never going to have any sort of lesson!"

"Oh? Not even a shagging one?" He inquired innocently. Her jaw dropped as she turned bright red.

"Excuse me?"

"Shagging. You were the one who said I made flying sound like shagging. They can be similar, you know. Of course, you'd never know unless you tried both of them." He explained calmly, hiding the strange excitement he was getting from talking about the subject of sex with Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Prude extraordinaire.

"When I have sex, it will not be with you!" she growled angrily, about to pull back. He sensed it and his arms wrapped around her, abruptly pulling her close as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

The sparks flew through both of them immediately, and Hermione dropped Neville's book, which she had been clutching in one hand. Her hands slid unconsciously around the Slytherin's neck, as the kiss deepened, both passionately exploring each other's mouth.

One of Draco's hands started to slide down from her back to her arse, then her thigh as he pulled her closer. When the palm of his hand lightly touched the bare skin of her leg under her skirt, Hermione squealed into the kiss and pulled back, her breath coming in little pants. Draco gave her a curious look as she blushed slightly; wrestling with the tingles and thick warm feeling in the pit of her stomach she had gotten from his small explorations.

"D-don't do that!" she tried to yell angrily, but it came out in a breathy huff. Draco smiled.

It was very sexy. Made him want to do more, for all her complaining.

"Okay, that you can't try to claim you didn't enjoy. You most certainly did." He said matter-of-factly.

"I have to get to class." She said, her eyes wide. He shrugged.

"Okay then. But you're going to regret not continuing your lessons with me." He said, sauntering away and down the hall. Hermione stared after him, resisting the urge to ask which lessons:

The flying, or the shagging?

* * *

"Hey, uh, Harry?" Hermione asked, cornering him before supper. The raven haired male looked at her oddly.

"Uh, yeah?" He replied warily. She had a strange look on her face.

"Would you…would you be willing to help me learn to fly. And Quidditch?" she asked, her tone blunt, but with a trace of hopefulness. Harry's face broke into a grin.

"Sure! Want to try tonight after dinner? No practice today." He said brightly. Hermione almost collapsed in relief.

"Definitely!" She said excitedly.

"Did Malfoy ditch you or something? I'm your second choice?" He asked, half joking. Hermione looked at him aghast.

"Of course not. I'd rather you teach me. It'll be on your Firebolt, right?" she asked, "Because that's what I'm…comfortable on." She didn't want to explain that older brooms wouldn't cooperate with her enough for her fears to be subdued.

"Uh. Right." Harry said, suddenly realizing that Hermione was expecting them to be on the same broom. He remembered how close two people had to be on a single broom, and was starting to understand the thing between Malfoy and Hermione. A light pink spread across his face, contrasting with his bright green eyes.

"Are you okay Harry?" asked Hermione, concerned. He shook himself slightly.

"Oh yes. Sorry. Was thinking…about something." He said dismissively, "Shall we go eat?" He said cheerfully, heading into the Great Hall. Hermione followed quickly, a feeling of relief sweeping over her.

Now she wouldn't have to worry about being tempted to have another lesson with Malfoy.

Harry would be a much better teacher anyway.

Wait. Didn't they have to sit on the same broom?

The Gryffindor girl suddenly remembered how close she had to sit with Draco, and a blush appeared on her face as she thought of Harry and her on his Firebolt.

Maybe her "new" lessons would be interesting as well.

* * *

_Yes, yes, this is still going to be a Draco/Hermione, don't worry. In my last fanfic, I had a dash of Ron/Hermione, so in this one I want to experiment with Harry/Hermione a little. Humor me. And a review would be fantastic. The more reviews I get, the faster I update!_  



	4. The Dangers of Flight

_I apologize for the delay, but I just finished my Mock Trial competition for good, and was crunched the last couple days...weeks...so no time for writing. But I did recieve the Best Attorney award, which I am very proud of! (if you couldn't tell by my...slight...bragging)_

Anyway, sorry, and I shall try to be more prompt.

_Enjoy this chapter, and if you don't like the way I wrote the characters, or the direction I took with it, you aren't required to read this! (and I shall not be changing the characterization or plot) But I do hope you like it!

* * *

_**  
Chapter Four: The Dangers of Flight

* * *

**

"Where were you two?" asked Ron suspiciously, as both Harry and Hermione sat down a little late to supper. Hermione giggled slightly, shaking her head at the redhead's mistrust as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Hermione was asking me about helping with those flying lessons."

"How are you going to fit on a broom with her _and_ Malfoy?" questioned Ron, with a little smirk. Hermione let out a growl of aggravation as Harry managed a chuckled before saying.

"I meant I'd be teaching her instead of Malfoy, of course." He corrected and Ron nodded.

"Of course." He confirmed, "That makes more sense. I didn't think Malfoy was charming enough to get you on his broom too." Ron said slowly, giving Hermione a look, "Well, I didn't think he was charming at all. Much less enough to get Hermione in a lip-lock with him."

"Ron, just…stop!" Hermione said, severely annoyed now. She pulled out a book and buried her nose in it, picking at the food in front of her and steadfastly ignoring the two. Harry shook his head at Ron.

"Now you've got her mad at you." He said, his voice quiet, so Hermione didn't notice.

"Pssssht. She'll get over it. 'Sides, it isn't like I said anything that wasn't true. She's the one who's been lying."

"Ron, it isn't a matter of honestly." Harry said, sternly. The youngest male Weasley shrugged. Harry sighed, "I think Hermione is done with this Malfoy stuff. Let's just drop it."

"Okay." Ron replied easily, "Hey, mind if I come watch you two? I'll stay on the ground so I'm not an obstacle." He joked. Harry laughed and looked at Hermione, who was still ignoring them. He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder gently.

She flinched and looked at him in wide-eyed surprised

"Yes?" She asked.

"Ron was wondering if it's okay if he watches from the stands or something while we fly."

"Oh." She hesitated, giving Ron a scrutinizing look. "I suppose that's fine." She said shortly, before returning to her book. Harry flashed Ron a smile.

"Okay then." He said, "Hurry up and finish eating so we can get started. I'm not sure how much Hermione knows right now." The boy-who-lived directed at Ron, and the freckled teen opened his mouth saying,

"Not much, I'll bet, except maybe when it comes to snogg-"

"Ron. Drop. It." Harry said slowly and firmly.

"Right. Sorry." He mumbled, and started to eat quickly.

* * *

"Hermione?" asked Harry with some concern. The brunette shook herself, and smiled at her companion. They were in the middle of the Quidditch field, and she had been staring into space. Thinking about the last time she was standing here. And who she was with.

Damn flashbacks.

"Sorry Harry. I'm ready now." She said brightly. He nodded and arranged himself on his Firebolt, scooting back so Hermione could get on.

He had thought about bringing another broom out, so they wouldn't have to be on the same one, but it was impractical. It would be more difficult to teach Hermione if she were on a different broom. Not impossible, and most likely more comfortable, but he figured it wasn't that big of a deal. Hermione was a mate of his.

It became very apparent that she was very much a _girl_ mate as she slid onto the broom in front of him, her back grazing his chest and both her legs hanging over one side.

He took a deep breath and reached around her to grab the handle. She looked back at him and gave him a half smile.

"This should be a lot better than with Malfoy." She said, wincing slightly as she mentioned him. She promised herself that she wouldn't. The idea was to _forget_ about the git.

"I should hope so." Harry said, with some amusement. It was forced as feeling of irritation flickered through him.

_Must_ she compare him to Malfoy? Or even talk about the ferret? He was uncomfortable with this quite enough as it was. A quick glance over by the Gryffindor stands told him that Ron was watching them closely.

Kicking off, Harry glided upwards a little faster than Hermione was used too. She moved closer to Harry with a yelp, turning towards him and ducking down against his chest, her skirt sliding up her thighs with the sharp movement. He slowed to a stop and blinked down at her.

"Sorry. Too fast, wasn't it?" He asked, trying to make his voice sound normal. Hermione looked up at him and he suddenly could almost understand why he'd caught her and Malfoy snogging.

"A little bit. Yes." She murmured.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut as she spoke. She had apparently made no effort to make her voice sound normal, as it came out in a husky whisper. It sent an unknown thrill down his spine.

Hermione shifted uneasily, mistaking Harry closing his eyes for disgust at her complaint.

Harry arms were immediately on her shoulders, clasping her roughly and stilling her as he gritted out,

"Hermione, don't move. Okay? Just for a second." He said, biting his lip as he tried to regain control of his senses. He hadn't realized that sitting on a broom with a girl was so…intimate.

Or would excite such an intimate part of himself.

He was embarrassed too, as this was Hermione, his _friend_. And here he was, trying not to let her know how she affected him. He hadn't even known that he was even interested in her before this.

Well. That was a lie.

He had some mild interest, of course. He wasn't blind. She was a girl, and since fourth year, had improved most nicely.

Now that she was a young woman of 17, the tangled mass of curls looked sensuous, not bushy as it had on a girl. Her teeth had been fixed in second year, and she had filled out most appropriately. This wasn't normally obvious, with the fact of the required robes of school, and that she made little to no effort to wear clothes like most teenage girls.

But when she was virtually in his lap, Harry found it nearly _painfully_ obvious.

She looked at him worriedly, but didn't move. There was silence for a moment, until Ron shouted up to them.

"What are you two doing!"

Hermione looked down at him, barely making out his face.

"Nothing, Ron, just readjusting!" she called back down. Unconsciously, she shifted to make her point, not that Ron could see it. Harry didn't see it either, with his eyes closed.

But he could most certainly feel it.

A sort of strangled growl emerged from his throat and Hermione looked back at him anxiously.

"Harry?" she inquired. He pursed his lips and slowly opened his eyes.

"Sorry, 'Mione." He said quietly, making a large effort to keep his voice light.

"Is something wrong? I'm sorry I said we were going too fast. I should get used to it anyway. A little speed is okay, if that's want you want."

"No, slow is good…" He said, smiling half-heartedly. Hermione noticed and frowned.

"Okay." She said, seemingly unconvinced. Harry sighed again and leaned forward, releasing her and putting his hands back on the broom handle.

He wondered if Hermione _tried_ to be so naive sometimes. It was infuriating. Is this what Malfoy had to deal with?

No.

Don't even go there.

Hermione relaxed, smiling slightly as she heard Harry grumble a little before leaning forward to move the broom forward. She was enjoying the close proximity with him. The way he brushed against her and-

Wait.

Dammit!

Isn't this what she had been trying to get rid of? Why she had refused to continue the lessons with Malfoy?

But this was Harry...She had to remind herself of that, at least. Not Malfoy. And nothing was going to happen. Because Harry was not a sex-crazed git like the Slytherin. He was her friend.

_Friend_.

"Okay Hermione, I'm going to let you try now." Harry said, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced at him and nodded, grabbing the broom's handle and biting the inside of her cheek. She could only hope this went better than with Malfoy.

Or maybe…she didn't want to go well. Part of her thought the time with Malfoy had gone very nicely.

But that part was sternly told to shut its trap.

Slowly she leaned forward, already doing much better than the day before. The broom moved forward smoothly and Harry smiled. Much better.

"You're doing good. Try a little bit faster." He coaxed. She nodded and leaned forward again, faster. The broom followed and she gasped, but managed not to do anything stupid.

Until she heard loud yells from below her. Then she jumped in surprise, and Harry had to lurch forward and grab her so she wouldn't fall off. He pulled her back easily, part of him happy with the distraction that had cause her to teeter as she brushed against him briefly.

They both glanced down to see Ron yelling at a group of Slytherins.

That included Malfoy.

Harry growled and Hermione just stared.

"Oh, this is just great!" snapped Potter, "Of course he would show up!"

"Harry…" Hermione trailed off, not sure what she was intending to say. She returned her gaze to Malfoy, who was rolling his eyes at the angry redhead.

Their meeting in the hallway before Arithmancy floated into her mind and she blushed slightly, stuffing away her feelings of excitement. Malfoy being here was bad.

Bad.

The Slytherins had ignored Ron, and were now on their brooms, kicking off into the air. Malfoy gave him one last comment, scoffed, and mounted his own broom, soaring into the air.

"You bloody prat!" screamed Ron, before he turned and started to run off the field. Harry stared after him.

"What is Ron doing?"

"The Weasel coward is running away. It's what he's good at." sneered Malfoy, appearing near them. His eyes fell to where Harry had his arms around Hermione's waist and narrowed.

"He's probably going to get a professor." Hermione said wryly.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy? I happen to know for a fact that no Quidditch teams are scheduled for today." Harry said knowingly. Malfoy smirked.

"Oh, I know. But we have special permission. Because we need extra practice." He said, flying closer so he was right next to them, "Because we are going to beat your ass next match." He murmured, giving Harry a piercing glare.

But Hermione felt his hand brush against her thigh teasingly, and when she glanced at the blonde, he gave her a discrete wink.

"Yeah right, Malfoy. Slytherin hasn't beaten Gryffindor in a long time." Harry said angrily, not noticing the interaction.

"It doesn't matter Potter. We will. Anyway, you have to get off the field now. Official practice overrides silly dates." He said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Date?" Hermione said, indignant. Harry lifted one of his hands from her waist, putting it on her shoulder.

"Oh come on, Hermione. Don't worry about it. Let's just go. We can practice more later." Harry said, starting to fly away.

"I don't think any amount of practice will make Hermione better at shagging, but trying in the air is an interesting tactic." Draco said snidely. Hermione let out a squeak as Harry wheeled the broom around sharply, glaring daggers at his enemy.

"You are very lucky, Malfoy, that right now you are on a broom. And that I have Hermione with me. Otherwise I would not hesitate to hurt you right now. Badly."

"Real wizards use wands, Potter." Malfoy replied, his already out. Harry started to move his remaining hand from Hermione's waist, his wand hand, but she quickly put her own hand over his.

"No Harry." She whispered, intertwining her fingers with his, to stop him, not as a romantic gesture. He still looked at her softly, inquiringly.

"Hermione, did you hear what he said?"

"Yes." She murmured, "But as you said, he isn't worth it. Let's just go." She paused, leaning back and closer to him to whisper, "Please."

It was all the encouragement Harry needed while she held his hand and leaned back against him.

"Okay, 'Mione."

Draco fumed, watching the relations unfold before his very eyes. This was certainly not what he had intended. He had been furious to find out that Potter was out on the Quidditch field with Hermione, as his informant told him.

He had to use a few favors to get the team out here on such short notice, as he was not the official team captain, and now it was wasted as _she_ flirted with Potter right in front of him! He hadn't meant to rip on her, either, but that was a hard habit to break.

He looked down at a couple lesser members of his team.

And it was his team, no matter if he wasn't the captain. That was only because of _complications_ with his father. The "benchwarmers" were alternate players for those who couldn't play, like the Weaselette had to do for Potter a couple times. Heh. That had been funny. Klutzy Potter.

A couple lingered by the Quidditch box on the ground, and while Granger and Potter were distracted by their fawning over each other, Malfoy motioned for his "weapons" to be released.

Hermione shrieked as a bludger grazed the top of her head, ducking down. Harry quickly leaned forward, releasing her and grabbing the broom, moving out of the way of the other one. He swung around to throw an angry look at Draco.

"What is wrong with you? Are you trying to kill us?" he demanded, even though he already his own personal answer to the question.

"No comment." Malfoy said, with a grin. Hermione glared at him and he saluted her.

"Of course you are." She said scathingly, "But you can't even do it yourself. Must employ any sort of secondary device. Like a bludger!" she yelled and he frowned.

"Don't imply I'm a coward." He said darkly. Harry swerved again as the bludgers came back around for another try.

Most of the Slytherin Quidditch team had landed, and were hanging out in the stands, so they weren't targets. Draco caught Hermione eye and gave her a look, as if to say, "You brought this on yourself". She was about demand how when an abrupt movement took her by surprise.

Another bludger caused Harry to move the broom hastily again, and this time Hermione was not prepared, and Harry had expected her to be, so he wasn't keeping a very close eye on her. She was tossed forward, off the broom, and managed to grab the end of it, dangling in the air.

"Hermione!" yelled Harry as Malfoy actually gasped. Harry reached down for her but he couldn't grab her hand without tipping the broom forward. Draco frowned for a moment, pondering, before he made a quick decision.

"Granger, let go!" Draco said as he flew up to her, reaching out with one hand to grasp her. She looked at him distrustfully, especially as Harry shouted "no" coupled with some extreme expletives.

But Draco looked at her so imploringly, his expression so utterly non-threatening that she couldn't help but consider the idea. She didn't want to die.

And Malfoy's broom certainly wasn't the worst option.

She let go.

He caught her gracefully, setting her in front of him, and had to admit that the way she clung to him slightly was very gratifying.

Certainly it made up for her actions with Potter earlier. A little bit.

She glanced at him, a slight smile of gratitude on her face. He smiled back.

"No need to thank me, Granger. After all, wouldn't want such a death on my hands, if I could have prevented it."

A pause.

Her expression changed, her lips thinning in disapproval. He realized that he had spoken too soon.

"_Thank_ you? I should curse you! Right now! You caused this in the first place!" she exclaimed furiously.

A mildly accurate point.

"Not really. It isn't my fault that Potter can't fly." He replied smoothly, scooting closer and sliding his hands lower on her waist, a couple fingers grazing the very tops of her thighs. "You should have stuck with a _real_ teacher." He said, his voice low and provocative as he whispered it by her ear.

She turned to face him totally, swinging one leg over the broom, so both were on one side. She was about to give him a piece of her mind when her eyes met his.

His gorgeous silver eyes.

He leaned in closer, and she didn't stop him.

A familiar voice yelling in the background barely registered, but she shoved it away and lifted her arms to put them around his neck. His arms found their way to her waist, pulling her against him as his lips met hers.

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_I hope that wasn't too awful. My apologizes if you don't like the way Ron or Harry behave. I got a couple complaining reviews about that for the last chapter. It's the way I think of them. And no, I shan't be making this a large Harry/Hermione. In fact, this chapter will be the most you'll read about it. It's Draco/Hermione sailing from here on. Not that the seas will be smooth. Coming along for the ride?_  



	5. The Avoidance of Flight

_Hey...yeah...it's been awhile. I will make a mild apology, but I am a college student now and have been unbelieably busy._ _I've also had some family issues...so yeah. Anyways, thank you for all of the sweet reviews and the unflagging belief that I would update eventually. You have been rewarded, here we are, un update!!_

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**  
Chapter Five: The Avoidance of Flight**

"Malfoy, get your fucking hands off her!!" yelled Harry, not for the first time. Harry had been yelling since Malfoy had first pulled Hermione onto his broom. The snogging couple ignored him yet again, but he could hear some whispering and grumbling below him, from the Slytherins, at Malfoy's antics.

When the pair finally broke apart, Malfoy smiled lazily at Hermione.

"See, gratitude always gets you somewhere."

"Or something…" murmured Hermione, before the world came back into sharp focus. She looked up at Harry with wide eyes, as Malfoy's narrowed ones fell on the Slytherins below them.

His teammates looked up at him, their expressions withdrawn. It was like they had just witnessed their god kiss the devil. Harry had a similar expression. Though of course, to Harry, Draco was the devil and Hermione an angel.

And a very sexy one at that. The only good that came of Hermione "falling" onto Draco's broom, in Harry's opinion, was that her skirt had rode up in such a way that he caught a glimpse of blue panties.

And there was a very real possibility that they weren't cotton.

But back to the matter at hand.

"What is wrong you???" Harry yelled, sounding a lot like Ron for a moment. Hermione looked at him, her surprised expression fading into a mild one.

"Really Harry, that's rather rude." She said coolly. He blinked at her. Draco looked away from his teammates at Hermione. He expected her to be meek, apologizing and begging Potter's forgiveness, like last time. Seeing this uncaring side of her made him smile. And turned him on. He scooted closer to her, his crotch brushing against her arse. She frowned.

"Not now, Malfoy." She looked back at Harry. "I believe I shall be taking a break from flying lessons for a bit. I also don't want to talk about what just happened."

"But-" Harry spluttered

"Granger-" started Draco at the same time.

"No. I just…need time to sort things out. I'm not even sure myself what is going on. Now, Malfoy, if you would kindly let me down, I want to go back to my dormitory."

Draco drifted down to the ground, letting Hermione off. He got off the broom himself, leaving it on the ground as he started to follow Hermione.

"Granger you can't just ignore all of this."

"You mean like you've been doing??" She said, spinning around to face him. Harry landed near them, but remained quiet, watching.

"I haven't been ignoring it."

"Well, when it's convenient you have. When it strikes your fancy you feel me up and use me as your own personal snogging buddy!" She didn't even wait for a reply, stalking back towards Hogwarts quickly.

Not that Draco had a reply. She was right.

Harry did, however.

"You did **_what _**to Hermione??" He demanded, glaring at Draco, his right hand moving near his wand pocket. Draco looked at Harry, his eyes flat.

"Nothing she didn't want." He replied, though the tone was void of its usual arrogance. Harry was taken aback and Draco was already on his broom and back in the air before Harry could even formulate a retort. The lone Gryffindor paused a minute before also heading back to Hogwarts, broom over his shoulder.

Draco flew around the field, ignoring questions and jabs from his dorm mates as they practiced. He didn't even try to look for the snitch, instead focusing on Granger.

He was disappointed that she didn't just beg him to start giving her lessons again. Apparently she wanted some sort of break. Well, he could have that affect on people. But she'd soon be crawling back for more Draco snogging.

Her and those sexy blue panties he had glimpsed.

* * *

"You know they're waiting in the common room, hoping you'll come down." Ginny said, watching Hermione brush her hair and put it into the pigtails she slept in.

"Yeah, and trying to convince Lavender or someone to drag me down there."

"Probably. They asked me, but I said it was your choice on when you'd come down."

"And that's why we're still currently talking" Hermione said, smiling good-naturedly at Ginny. The redhead laughed.

"So, how is Malfoy?" She asked anxiously.

"Oh, come on, Ginny! I thought you understood that I do not want to talk about this."

"Well yeah, to the two gits down there, but come on, you can tell me!"

"Why? Fancy a Malfoy snogging session yourself?" Hermione asked, pretending to be kidding around, while secretly she felt annoyed.

Like Dra-Malfoy would even be interested in someone like Ginny. After all, she was a Weasley, and Malfoy hated the Weasleys. Of course, he supposedly hated Hermione two days ago too. But that had changed. So what was supposed to prevent Ginny from pursuing him?

"Not with Malfoy, no…you're the only Gryffindor I know who's interested in him. Just curious how you're experience was." Ginny said, raising an eyebrow at the different emotions she saw warring in Hermione's eyes.

"Oh. Of course." Hermione said, trying to pretend she wasn't relived. Then she felt angry with herself. Why should she be relieved? It wasn't like she was interested in Malfoy, or should be worried about if anyone else was interested in him. "Well, I meant what I said, Ginny. I really just don't want to talk about it."

"All right." Ginny replied easily. Hermione glanced at Ginny a moment, debating, before she asked,

"Have you…uh, ever ridden on a broom with someone else?"

"Maybe…" Ginny replied, not sure where Hermione was going with this.

"Is it always so…intimate?"

"Ah. Yeah, pretty much. I mean, two people on one little branch of wood, it's going to be pretty close quarters."

"So…the thing between Malfoy and I could be caused by us just being on a broom together?"

"Well…yes and no. I mean, it's not like it creates stuff that isn't there at all. Obviously you and Malfoy have some sort of attraction. But the flying thing could encourage you two to actually act upon it." Ginny said reasonably. Hermione stared at her friend.

"Malfoy and I did not have any sort of attraction before getting on a broom together." She said firmly. Ginny shrugged.

"Whatever. I was just saying…"

"I mean, when I was learning from Harry, they was a bit of a…thing, which proves that it's the broom and not people, as Harry and I are just friends. Not remotely attracted to each other."

Ginny frowned.

"Well. Maybe." The Weasley said shortly. Hermione realized she had touched a nerve.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. What I meant was…"

"What you meant was two people on a broom get pretty close and cause some physical issues? Sexually?" Ginny asked brazenly. Hermione swallowed. She'd forgotten how forward Ginny had gotten recently.

"Um. Sometimes, yes. But I mean, it was a much larger problem with Malfoy than Harry. I mean, with Harry, it was just awkward." Ginny seemed pleased by this. "But with Draco- I mean Malfoy, it was…"

"Sexual." Ginny said, with a Cheshire cat smile. Hermione grumbled.

"Yeah."

"Well…Malfoy is pretty sexy. And you certainly aren't the bushy short little bookworm from first year." She paused. "No offense."

"No, you're right. I mean…I know my hair's been a little better, and I know my teeth haven't been a issue for a bit. And…my uniform doesn't feel as baggy as it used to. But I'm still a bookworm."

"That's true." Ginny said, laughing, "But you know, I'll bet with Malfoy's intelligence, he's got to value that."

"Value what? Tight clothes?" Hermione said, her eyes blinking. Ginny laughed.

"No, though I'm sure he likes that. I meant the bookworm thing. I mean, I know Harry and Ron make fun of you for it, but I'd bet Malfoy doesn't really have a problem with it."

"Merlin, Ginny, you make it sound like we're dating or something."

"Hmmm…" Ginny murmured, smiling at Hermione.

"Ew, no. I am not going to date Draco Malfoy."

"Well, you know, you've kinda already done what boyfriends and girlfriends do, without the label. I mean, you've even had the publicity."

That was true. But Hermione was done with Malfoy now, so it didn't matter.

"Well, yeah, but all that stuff was an accident. It's not going to happen again."

"Whatever you say, Hermione." replied Ginny, sounding a lot wiser than Hermione would like to have acknowledged.

* * *

For once, Hermione was grateful for Snape's stick up the ass personality. First of all, there was certainly no way to have a conversation in his class, which meant she could further avoid talking to Ron and Harry. Secondly, Snape was head of Malfoy's housewhich meant Malfoy would not snog her in front of him.

Unfortunately, Hermione forgot to take into account Snape's love of torturing them by pairing people who didn't work well together. Usually if he was feeling spiteful, he would pair Ron and Malfoy, or even (on the rare occasion) Harry and Malfoy. He didn't pair Harry and Malfoy much because that resulted in more than he wanted to clean up. But today, though he was feeling malicious, he apparently was so in tune with his malicious nature that he knew how to exactly deal out the unfair pairings for maximum suffering.

Hermione glared at Draco.

"Do not say anything to me, unless it is related to the potion we are making." Malfoy shrugged.

"Whatever you say, Granger." He casually let his knee brush hers and he leaned over to grab an ingredient to crush with his pestle.

"No touching either." She whispered shortly. She noticed both Harry (paired with Neville yet again) and Ron (who unfortunately had to deal with Pansy) were watching Draco and her like hawks.

"Any touching on my end is purely accidental." He promised.

"Liar. The only touching we've done before this whole flying incident was when my fist hit your face."

That shut him up.

Towards the end of class, when they had to let their cauldron bubble for ten minutes, Draco leaned back in his chair, relaxing slightly. He glanced at Hermione. She was going over notes while waiting for the potion to finish. He tried to resist the smirk forming on his face as he watch her purse her lips in an adorable fashion.

He had to remember where he was, and who could see him.

He settled for a blank expression as he studied her. He still couldn't understand what had brought on his slight (**_very _**slight) interest in her. But as his eyes trailed down her sexy tangled curls past her decently sized chest, to her narrow waist, curved hips and cute arse, he started to have an inkling of an idea.

Of course. This was entirely physical. Granger had just apparently somehow grown into a semblance of an attractive young woman. And he, not being blind, had noticed. That didn't make it wrong. There was nothing wrong with noticing an attractive woman.

Granger crossed her legs, her skirt sliding up slightly.

A **_very _**attractive woman.

Draco discreetly tried to check what panties she was wearing today, but her skirt was no where high enough for him to tell. He wondered if maybe the blue ones were her only sexy ones, and all the others were boring white cotton. It made sense. Then again, why would she own only one pair of sexy panties?

"What are you looking at?"

Draco looked up sharply to see Hermione glaring at him. The question was of course rhetorical. She knew he had been looking at her legs. Well, leg region.

"Your shoes. They look dirty." He lied, easily. She raised an eyebrow, glancing down at her perfectly clean shoes. It was something they had in common. They both valued looking very clean, neat, and presentable. Well, except for Granger's hair. Draco cared much more about his hair that she obviously did about hers. This used to bother him. Bushy-haired Granger.

Except now she was…

Sexy, very sexy Granger.

Gorgeous, even.

It even looked like she attempted something with that mess of curls. Either that, or Draco found them so…alluring that he told himself she did.

"You're doing it again." She said snottily. He allowed himself a smirk this time.

"I know." He said, before tapping the cauldron with his wand, to stop it from bubbling. He skillfully put some of the potion in a vial for Snape to test.

They were the first ones done, and so Draco got his stuff together and waited for the bell to ring. Since everyone else was still in pairs, and currently Pansy was sitting in Hermione's seat, she had to continue sitting next to Draco.

"So are you sure you don't want another flying lesson tonight?" He asked her. She glanced over, prepared to frown and snap at him. But his expression threw her off. He wasn't smirking or showing any sign of arrogance. His expression was almost bordering on disappointment. But she decided to play it cool.

"Why are you so interested? I'm sure you could easily convince some other girl to go fly around on a broom with you. She'd probably be more…pliable too." Hermione said, her tone sour. Draco shook his head.

"I don't want to just fly around on a broom. I want to teach you to fly. To enjoy flying. Once you're actually comfortable with it, it's amazing, I promise." He said, his eyes serious. Hermione looked away. It was unnerving. And hard to resist. He seemed so sincere.

"Feeding me lines to get into my pants, Malfoy??" She said, wounded. He frowned.

"No Granger. Merlin, I'm trying to be honest. I really want to help you learn to enjoy flying, to want to get on a broom. Without me being there to coerce and steady you."

"You weren't very steadying last time." She murmured, then froze as she realized she had said that aloud. He understood her innuendo immediately.

"Well, that's apparently something we have to deal with too. We can't just leave your unsettled nerves, both about flying and me, to themselves. Who knows what you'll do to yourself. And I'm not going to be responsible for that. I never thought I'd say that, but I mean it." He said stoutly, staring her down this time. She sighed.

"Maybe one more lesson. If we can actually try to focus on the lesson. And maybe…not in the Quidditch practice field? I really would rather avoid sightseers and jeerings."

"All right. But that means we'll have to practice over by the Forbidden Forest."

"That's all right. That place doesn't really bother me."

"All right, meet me at six."

"But wait…that means we'll be cutting it close to curfew."

"Oh Granger, Merlin, grow some balls. Wait, on second thought, don't. But try to be a bit less prudish. Its one night. We won't get caught."

Hermione debated on asking Harry for his cloak for an instant. Then she remembered what she was going to do. Like Harry would even let her go, much less help her sneak around with Malfoy under his father's cloak.

Maybe she could stea-borrow it.

Okay, **_now _**she was worried about the affect Draco was having on her.

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_Okay, now you guys should know how it works by now. Reviews, or no update! This story is for you guys, not me, so if no one's interested, there's no reason for me to continue. So keep those beautifully sweet reviews coming! And I'll start on the next chapter!!_


	6. The Horror of Flight

_Well...this is the part where I'm suppose to say sorry and beg forgiveness for the delay in updating. But...I have a life. Life got in the way. That's pretty much it. I'm not going to apologize for having a life. It happens. Anyways, I should have a couple more chapters pretty soon. I'm still not sure how this fanfic will go on.  
_  
**_Also: This next chapter deals with the issue of attempted rape. Be forewarned. This is rated "M" for a reason._**

_Those reviews while my life was too much for me to update were absolutely touching! Thanks so much! They really do help, and encourage me! _

_I did give you a longer chapter, so enjoy!  
_

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**Chapter Five: The Horror of Flight  
**

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"Okay, now the object is to get the ball _through _the trees." said Draco, smirking. Hermione rolled her eyes, flying down to grab the ball from where it lay a couple yards to the right of a large tree on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. 

"This is my first time!" She called back up to Draco.

"Well, I do hope that you're a little better for your first time shagging…" murmured Draco. Hermione heard him.

"How do you know I haven't already shagged?" she demanded. Draco laughed.

"Believe me, I know. I can tell Weasley's gotten further than you. He's at least been under clothing. Though apparently not with you." He said cruelly. Hermione frowned. She did not want to be reminded of the Lavender fiasco.

She was both happy and annoyed that she was on her own broom at this moment. Happy because she didn't have to deal with the sexual tension and annoyed because she couldn't easily smack Malfoy for what he just said.

"You know, it's dark and I can barely see! Did you think of that??" She yelled, tucking the red ball under her arm and flying back up.

"Ah, so you're a lights on sorta girl."

She shot him a look but he just flicked his eyebrows up in that sexy suggestive way he always did. She sighed and focused on maneuvering herself so she could throw the ball between the two trees they had decided were goalposts.

When they had first met up that night (Draco was actually on time), they both agreed that Hermione should be on her own broom. Not only because of the things that always happened when they were on the same broom, but because the average Quidditch player flew by themselves.

Hermione had thought of this in advance, and so had maneuvered to borrow Ginny's broom, which was a relatively tame Nimbus. She almost asked Harry to borrow his, as well as the invisibility cloak, but then remembered that Harry was relatively against the idea of her learning from Malfoy. Plus, Ginny's broom wasn't as quick and surprising as the Firebolt. Of course, it wasn't as smooth, but Hermione had gotten used to that.

"Okay, now try to not throw like a flobberworm." Draco called.

"Flobberworms don't have arms!" Hermione argued back.

"Exactly. Let's pretend you do have arms. That are capable of movement." Draco replied snidely. Hermione ignored him and hurled the ball towards the void between the two trees. It flew straight in between the two trees.

Suddenly there was a strange excited yipping sound from the direction where the

Quaffle had landed. Hermione blinked and started towards the sound. Draco was immediately by her side on his Firebolt.

"Wait a second. You don't know what that was. I don't think it's a good idea to investigate."

"It sounded a lot like Fang. Maybe Hagrid left him out there accidentally." Hermione said, still flying forward, though slowly.

"It didn't sound exactly like a dog…" murmured Draco, though he followed her. Before they passed between the trees, something appeared.

It was enormous, like Fang, and looked a lot like a dog. But it's fur was a rusty red, with tips of black on the ears and white on the tail. It held the Quaffle in it's mouth, it's inky black eyes sparkling.

"Is that…a fox?" Hermione said, blinking at it.

"It's way too big to be a fox."

"It sure looks like a fox." She landed a couple yards in front of it. It didn't seem to be aggressive, on the contrary, it's eyes were mischievous. "Hey there." Hermione whispered, "How about you let us have that nice red ball?" She continued coaxingly. The fox whisked its tail. Draco landed near Hermione and put his arm on her shoulder.

"Maybe we should just let him have it."

"Nonsense. That's school property."

"Yeah, but I'm sure they lose them all the time. Chasers throwing them in strange places while practicing and such." Draco said casually, though his eyes were sharp on the fox. He started to pull Hermione back, closer to him. "Now, come on, let's just let the fox have the ball. He did come out of the Forbidden Forest, so there's no telling what he'll do to us." He was remembering the punishment he had during first year.

"Nonsense, look at him!" Hermione said, as the fox whisked his tail again, "See, he knows we're talking about him. He must be very intelligent."

"He's enormous." Draco said peevishly, "That certainly doesn't make him normal."

"Of course not. This is the Forbidden Forest, not some little grove next to your mansion. There are strange creatures in it. But they can be friendly." She said, remembering Harry's stories of centaurs and unicorns. Draco still looked unconvinced. The fox crept closer to the pair, it's manner friendly. Draco tightened his grip on Hermione.

"Maybe you should let me." He said, trying to be gallant. He stepped in front of her, reaching out to the oversized fox. The creature moved closer, offering the ball to Draco. But before the blond could take it, the fox grinned and bounded away a couple yards, looking back at the pair and seeming to smirk.

"I know that look." Hermione said, glancing at Draco with a smile. He rolled his eyes.

"Stupid fox."

"Hah, so you admit it is a fox." She said, moving forwards towards the creature. "Hey there handsome boy."

"How do you know it's a boy?" Draco asked with annoyance, trying to disguise his jealousy at her calling the fox 'handsome'. It was stupid anyways.

"Because he doesn't like you." She said with a chuckle.

"Crabbe and Goyle like me." Draco retorted.

"But this cute boy is smart." Hermione said, now only a foot or two away from the fox. The canine had sat on his haunches, staring quietly at Hermione approaching. Once she got close enough to touch him, she reached out a hand tentatively to let him sniff. He did so briefly before he immediately started nuzzling it. He dropped the ball at her feet to give her arm a small affectionate lick. Draco frowned. "Aw, that's a boy. Yeah, you're a good boy aren't you." She said. The fox dropped down, rolling to his side so Hermione could scratch his belly. Draco's frown turned to a glower.

"Okay, you got the ball back, come on, we have more practicing to do."

"Aw, but look at him. He just wants some attention." She said as the fox squirmed in ecstasy at her touches. Draco watched her hand brush lower on the fox's stomach until it stopped just before a thick tuft of fur between the fox's back legs. She traveled back up his stomach, scratching and giggling at the fox rolling around. Draco found it disturbing that he thought her petting a fox was mildly sensuous, but it was. Very. He stepped forward, intending to grab Hermione and the ball, and get back to the business of Quidditch.

The fox was immediately on his feet, moving in front of Hermione and growling at Draco. The blond frowned, stopping a moment.

"Come on Hermione, let's get back to Quidditch" He said casually. Hermione got to her feet.

"All right." She started towards Draco, but the fox cut her off, trying to steer her back towards the forest. With his large size, he came up above her waist and it was easy for him to force her back. Draco started forward again.

"Hey!" He shouted at the fox. It growled again. Hermione was surprised.

"Come on now, I have to go." She tried to push the fox away, but it stood fast, blocking her from Draco. "What's wrong with you?"

"You're probably the first person who's ever given the thing that kind of attention and now he wants you for himself." Draco said. He didn't mention that he empathized with the giant canine, being in a bit of the same predicament himself.

"Aw, don't call him a thing." Hermione said, patting the fox.

"Don't encourage him!" Draco reached for his wand, intending to try something magically to get Hermione 'free'. The fox seemed to know what Draco was doing and tried to herd Hermione towards the woods faster. Hermione stumbled slightly from the speed and the fox whined, trotting quickly in front of her to catch her. Draco took the opportunity to move quickly to her, pulling her back into his arms. The fox spun around, hackles raised and growling. Draco pushed Hermione behind him, handing her the Quaffle.

"Here, take this back to the brooms, I'll meet you there."

"Don't hurt him!" She said, taking the ball and moving away from the two 'men'. Draco leveled a stare at the fox, only having to look down slightly. The fox stared back. He pocketed his wand.

"Look, I understand. I wish I could just take her away to some dark forest by myself too. But she wouldn't be happy." Draco tried to reason. The fox stopped growling, seeming to listen, and even understand. "Believe me, I fancy her too. A lot more than I'm willing to admit." The fox relaxed. "I know she's something, isn't she? I didn't even realize it until you starting trying to drag her into the forest." The fox rumbled deep in his throat. "Coax, whatever." Draco said, not even stopping to wonder how he partially understood what the fox was saying. The fox switched his tail, turning to walk away. Draco watched it leave, surprised that he had been able to sympathize with a fox, of all things. He turned to go join Hermione, pondering the words he had just said to the creature.

Did he really feel that way about Hermione?

* * *

It was a nice quiet evening in the library, with only a couple students grabbing some last minute study time. Hermione, having finished studying hours ago, was enjoying leisure time with books. Quidditch was her genre of choice tonight, which was highly unusual. She was reading up on strategy and the complicated rules, now that she knew how to fly and throw the Quaffle. Amazingly, she was enjoying herself. 

Time crept along until it was only a little bit before the library would close. Hermione had a large pile of books she was planning on borrowing for a bit, including a good deal of Quidditch books. She was engrossed in a book about the great underdog wins of all time when she felt someone standing behind her.

"Oh, I'm almost done. I'll have my stuff cleaned up in a minute." She said distractedly, thinking it was Madame Pinch, the librarian. The body didn't move. She sighed, becoming exasperated. "Ron, you know I hate when you do that."

"I am definitely not the Weasel." came a smooth voice. Hermione spun around in her chair to see Malfoy staring down at her, clearly annoyed.

"Oh. Hi." She said, still awkward on how to treat him when they weren't around broomsticks. He gave her a nod. "Did you…want something?"

"Yes." He said, glancing around before he took a seat next to her. "About our next practice; I can't make it." His expression was carefully blank and Hermione was confused.

"Um…okay. Did something come up?" She resisted the urge to look hurt, and forced herself not to hope it just wasn't him getting bored or disgusted with her. She knew that might happen eventually, once Malfoy really realized that he was teaching _Hermione Granger_ to ride a broomstick.

"Yeah." Draco said nonchalantly. Hermione shrugged, carefully composing her face to one of indifference.

"Okay. Whatever."

Draco laid a hand on her shoulder, his face leaking some unreadable expression.

"It's not like we're permanently done or anything." He said, and Hermione relaxed inwardly, then mentally berated herself for caring. "So don't go running to Potter for tips. I just can't make it tomorrow evening." He said, moving back and glancing at the book she was reading, "Figures you'd read something about underdogs." He said, getting to his feet. He gave her a half smile as he left saying, "It's a good book."

Hermione stared after him, wondering why her emotions were so askew. It was ridiculous that she was disappointed about the canceled practice. She decided to attribute that to her new love of flying and not the silver eyed devil. In fact, she thought, she knew enough now to have a little evening flying by herself.

Yes. That's what she would do.

* * *

It was chilly when Hermione left, Ginny's Nimbus over her shoulder. She was wearing a sweater under her robes, but hadn't bothered to change out of her skirt so kept her robe wrapped tightly around her legs. She reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She had to go there because Ravenclaw had the Quidditch field that night. Not that she minded. She had discovered with the last couple practices her and Draco had by the dark woods, that she liked the quiet serene quality. She quickly mounted her broom, kicking into the air and going slightly into the woods, just exploring a bit. 

A couple minutes later, there was a flash of rusty red and a friendly yip, and the fox appeared below Hermione. She smiled and landed easily, reaching out to pet the creature.

"Are you going to behave today?" She asked. The fox seemed to look at her solemnly. She nodded, "Good." He thrust his head into her hand, nuzzling her and she scratched his ears. He pulled back slightly, glancing around her and the broom, then looked questioningly at her. "What are you looking for?" She asked. He glanced around again, then tilted his head at her. "Oh. Are you looking for Malfoy?" She smiled slightly. "He isn't here today. He had to go...do something." He whisked his tail twice before he turned and took off into the forest. Hermione watched, but made no move to follow. She knew better than to run blindly into the Forbidden Forest. She turned, starting to walk back out to the field, thinking perhaps she should quit for the day when the fox appeared again. Then time he held a large bright red ball in his mouth.

"Is that a Quaffle??" Hermione said, her tone amused. She could guess where all the missing balls went. The fox presented it to her, then spanked the ground with his front paws excitedly, swishing his tail. Hermione tilted her head. "Do you want to play?" He yipped an affirmative. She laughed. "All right." She got onto her broom again, lifting up a couple feet into the air. Then she threw the Quaffle with all her might into the forest. The fox bounded after it, reappearing in less than a minute. "Wow, you're fast aren't you?" She said. She took the ball from him and threw it again.

They did this a couple times before Hermione paused.

"You know, you don't have a name, do you?" The fox merely stared at the ball, waiting for her to throw it again. "Hmm…I'll have to think of a good one for you. You aren't just an average animal." The fox suddenly twitched his ears and looked towards the school, growling. Hermione glanced back over her shoulders. She could see a couple people in Quidditch robes with brooms over their shoulders walking and laughing. She looked back at the fox. "Those are just the Ravenclaw Quidditch players, probably going back to their dorms." She frowned, "Speaking of which, I should probably go soon."

The great big canine whined and Hermione smiled.

"All right, a couple more rounds." She said, hefting the Quaffle ball to throw. The fox bounded after it.

Hermione turned, hearing voices that were particularly close.

"Hey, look what we found." said a snide voice. Hermione frowned. A couple of Slytherins in Quidditch robes stood behind her. It was the boys the fox had growled at. Hermione had mistook their green uniforms for Ravenclaws blue ones from a distant. She frowned at them.

"Sod off." She snapped.

"I thought Potter's wench didn't fly." said one of the Slytherins, a large bulky young man with a tuft of dark hair.

"Didn't you hear? Malfoy's trying to fuck with her by 'teaching' her to fly." said a skinny one with a bad case of acne. Hermione started to reach for her wand. Acne boy noticed and immediately darted forward with surprising speed, grabbing her and pulling the wand from her hand, tossing it on the ground. He also wrenched the broom from her other hand and threw it into the trees. Then her pulled her back against his chest, her arms pinioned in between them. The other two boys stepped forward.

"I don't know why Malfoy bothers." said a short, muscled guy, with tawny colored hair and a bit of stubble on his face. He looked at Hermione with disgust. She mentally tried to think of a way out. With the way acne boy was holding her, her legs were straight against his legs and she couldn't get a good kick in. The other two boys weren't close enough to kick. She struggled slightly, but acne boy's skinny physique was misleading as he held her easily, without much effort.

"I think I do." said the bulky guy, his eye scanning her, "Think of her on a broom with you…" He smiled and Hermione felt suddenly sick. The small muscled guy seemed to study her again.

"I suppose if you get past the goody two shoes Gryffindor exterior…you can see her actually…exterior." He said grudgingly, though he still didn't seem very convinced.

"Doesn't matter what you say, Boyd, we're still here, and I'm not leaving until we accomplish our goal." the bulky guy said. He started to undo his tie and Hermione's eye went wide, and she screamed. Acne boy immediately slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up bitch." He hissed into her ear. She tried to bite him. But he just replaced his hand with bulky guy's tie, tying tightly around her head and making a tight gag. Then bulky guy went to work on his shirt. Boyd stepped back a bit, glancing around, his wand out. He was obviously the lookout.

He didn't see the red flash until it was on him. He did scream, however and managed to shout a stunning spell. The fox fell back, stunned, but not knocked out. It was immediately back on it's feet, snarling savagely.

"What the hell is that?!" said bulky guy. Hermione looked relieved.

"I dunno." said acne boy, not lessening his grip on Hermione, "Use you wand." Bulky guy lifted his wand but before he could utter a hex, the fox leaped at him. The Slytherin screamed. Boyd was quicker, back on his feet and shouting some sort of hex, causing the fox to jump back with a yelp. Boyd then immediately cast a spell that put a sort of force field between them and the fox. The enormous canine growled in frustration, throwing himself at the barrier a couple times before he prowled around the edges, glaring at the Slytherins. Hermione looked wildly at the fox. She yelled something into her gag. The fox glanced at her, tilting his head. She repeated the mumbled plea and the fox gave one last look to the Slytherins before he disappeared in a streak of red.

"It could be a trick, Boyd. Keep that barrier up." said acne boy. Hermione closed her eyes a minute, hoping that the fox had figured out what she wanted. It seemed like he had, and hopefully he was fast enough. Bulky guy turned back to Hermione.

"Nice try with that little pet, but looks like he won't be coming back." He said scathingly, tossing the remnants of his shirt aside. There were a variety of fresh scratch marks on his chest, and a nasty looking bite that was bleeding by his shoulder. He ignored them, stepping closer to Hermione. "Hold her still." He said to acne boy, reaching out. Hermione shrank back, but eventually his hand landed on the front of her robes. He pulled at them, and acne boy easily moved Hermione around to accommodate the stripping. Soon she was in her sweater and skirt. Bulky boy frowned at the sweater, immediately pulling it roughly over her head, messing up her hair. Then he glanced down at her legs. She was wearing knee high socks and her skirt went to midthigh, so there wasn't much skin to be seen. Apparently Bulk didn't like this as he immediately pulled off her shoes and then ripped off her socks, adding them to the scattered clothes. He let out a low whistle.

"Wow, look at those legs." He grinned, reaching out and running a hand from the middle of her left calf up to almost the top of her thigh. She shuddered. "Those are the legs you'd love to see wrapped around you."

Boyd glanced back at her from his position of guard and raised an eyebrow.

"She is cleaning up nicely." He murmured. Acne boy leaned down slightly and nipped at her neck. She shrieked into the tie and the boys all laughed.

"Come on, I know you at least pretended you liked it with Malfoy." goaded acne boy, "What's he got that we don't?"

"Maybe she goes for seekers." Bulk said, laughing, "Us beaters and chasers aren't good enough."

"Aw, come on, you can learn better flying from a beater than a puny little seeker." Acne boy crooned into her ear. She closed her eyes, refusing to watch them and putting all her hopes on the fox finding someone. Anyone.

She felt fingers fumble with her blouse, and upon getting it open, they traced over her breasts and down her stomach. She could feel goosebumps appear, both from the cold and from fear.

"Wow." She heard Bulk comment. She refused to open her eyes. "I'd say C-cup, huh Boyd?"

"Uh-huh." came a grunt.

"Wouldn't have thought that with those robes and oversized sweaters."

Next came a tugging at her skirt, and at this she started struggling again.

"Ow! Dammit bitch!" Acne boy shouted, and she felt a thin hard wooden item press into her throat. A wand. She froze. "Don't move again." Acne boy threatened, "I do know more than just your average hexes." He continued menacingly.

Instead of pulling it off, she felt her skirt being lifted slightly.

"Hm…white satin. What do you think, boys?" She heard Bulk ask, with a laugh.

"I think this little bookworm has a couple secrets, huh?" Acne asked, chuckling in her ear. Boyd was quiet. Hermione tensed, waiting for what was next.

"Let's move a little more into the trees." She heard Boyd say nervously.

"All right, if that's what you want." Acne boy said grudgingly, dragging Hermione into the woods. She could hear the other two boys moving with them.

"Do you want to join in, Warren? We could bind her to a tree." she heard Bulk say. She now knew acne boy's name.

"I'm enjoying this from right where I am." Warren said, his free hand wandering down to her hip, then her arse, squeezing lightly. She yelped, causing him to laugh. She could hear Bulk laugh with him. She still kept her eyes shut, even as she felt Bulk move close to her, his body right against hers. His hands wandered, touching and occasionally pinching. He moved closer and she felt something hard brush against her stomach. She bit her lip until she tasted blood, remembering the wand at her throat. It was a cool, constant reminder.

Suddenly she heard a loud snarl, and an angry yell. She heard Boyd cuss loudly before he started hexing whoever was with the fox. Warren shoved her at Bulk.

"Here, take her. You're no good with a wand." She felt beefy hands grab her and hold her. But she knew that now there was no wand at her throat. She opened her eyes and wrenched her arms free sharply, immediately swinging her arm towards his face. He let out a hiss of pain as blood starting pouring out of his nose, but didn't become immobile. He pulled a stubby wand out and shouted something at her, but it was mumbled and unintelligable. The hex hit her and she blinked, not sure what it was supposed to do. She just felt...foggy. If foggy could be considered a feeling. Next, he grabbed at Hermione, his hands connected with her shoulder and neck and he squeezed. She shrieked in pain, her leg kicking out, trying to connect with anything. It missed, and he sidestepped her other attempts. Soon his hand on her shoulder moved up to join the one at her throat, squeezing tighter. Hermione felt her strength ebbing, until she couldn't kick anymore.

"You just aren't worth it, are you bitch??" He said savagely, his hands tightening even more. She felt her eyes flutter shut.

"Let go." said a voice darkly, from very near Hermione. An animal growl came from the other side of her. She could neither force her brain to recognize the growl, nor the voice. She forced her eyes to stay open, but her vision was tunneling and wasn't helping her any more than if her eyes were closed. She barely registered a hex spoken by the voice that wasn't Bulk's. The hands around her throat slackened. She heard a snarl and the bulky body that had been so near to hers fell away. "Hermione." whispered a voice. She heard a long distressed whine.

Then she fainted.

* * *

_Hope you liked that. And don't forget, I did warn you. How do you like the fox? Heheh, I thought this story needed a little bit of my personal touch. Which of course means a reference to Greek Mythology! (For those of you who have read my other non-oneshot Harry Potter). 20 points to whoever can figure out the Greek Mythology reference with my handsome fox._

_And you guys know the rules: this fanfic is for you! I don't update unless I get told to! So those reviews help!_


	7. The Absence of Flight

_**All right, I won't bore with a bunch of blather. Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**A note though: thank you for the wonderful reviews!! The prize for guessing the mythology reference with the fox goes to **_Sanguine Dreams_**, though just to let everyone know, Zeus did not turn the Teumessian fox into stone, but made him and the hound pursuing him into a constellation, as the fox was uncatchable and the hound caught everything it chased, so they would be running until the end of time. Obviously, my fox is not being pursued until the end of time, lol, but I liked the idea of a gigantic super quick fox. He's adorable!**_

_**(The fox's nickname is pronounced Too-may)**_

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Absence of Flight**

* * *

It was dark. All she could tell was that there was some sort of weight on her stomach, and something was gripping her hand lightly. She blinked a couple times, trying to force her eyes to adjust. She could see shapes by her bed. One was large and rusty colored, its head resting on her stomach, eyes closed. The other was sitting in a chair hunched over, blond hair falling over his eyes, which were also closed. She shifted slightly and the huge fox's eyes opened quickly. He gave a low whine.

She tried to sit up, and this caused the blond to open his eyes and focus on her.

"Granger." He said quietly. He didn't let go of her hand. She looked at him, her expression confused. Then she glanced down at herself. She was wearing a baby blue sort of nightie, with thin straps and a slight V-neck. It didn't seem like something she would own. She looked back at the blond. He seemed very concerned. She glanced down at the fox.

"Why is there a giant fox in my room?" Her voice was scratchy and she put a hand to her throat. Touching it hurt. In fact, it throbbed painfully even when she left it alone.

"Well, Granger; first of all, you aren't in your room. I definitely wouldn't be here if you were. Secondly, the fox, who I decided to name Teume, is here because Dumbledore strangely agreed to let him in. Madame Pomfrey went nuts, saying something about 'letting another oversized mongrel in here'. But Teume here fought tooth and claw to get in here to stay by you. At least figuratively…" He grinned at her

"Teume?"

"Oh, I researched him the other day, and all I could find was something in ancient Greece called the Teumessian fox. A huge fox that's uncatchable. That sounded like our boy, so I figured Teume would be a good name for him."

Hermione stared at the fox.

"Greek…mythology?"

"Mythology? Uh, yeah, I guess to muggles that'd be what it is."

"Muggles?" Hermione said, staring at Draco. He blinked before narrowing his eyes.

"Do you remember what happened earlier tonight?" She shook her head. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Um…I'm not sure." She took this chance to look around, "I definitely don't remember this place."

Draco was worried now. He knew she had been in the hospital wing many times with the scrapes Potter, Weasley, and her managed to get into.

"Try to remember something." He said coaxingly, "Do you at least remember me?" He figured with what looked like some minor amnesia, she would remember him as the asshole that tormented her, and that's why she was acting so strange around him.

"Um. No, I'm sorry. I don't. I remember my parents, my house. My school, my friends."

"But not me or the hospital wing? Maybe you blocked just that out." He said. She tilted her head.

"My school doesn't have a 'hospital wing'. It's a small one story building." She said, glancing out the window where she could see she was up a couple floors, "And it definitely doesn't have grounds like that." She said wonderingly, getting a moonlit glimpse of the wide expanse of Hogwarts.

"You don't remember Hogwarts?" He asked, getting more and more unnerved. He had heard Lyle try to use the obliviate hex, but everyone knew Lyle couldn't use a wand to save his life. Malfoy hadn't been the least bit worried that the spell had worked. It hadn't even looked like Lyle had hit her with the spell. Now it was starting to look otherwise.

"Hogwarts? That's such a strange name for a school." She murmured.

"I should probably get Madame Pomfrey." Draco said, starting to get up.

"No, wait. Don't go." Hermione said, her hand tightening around his. He glanced down at her in surprise, "I don't know anyone here, and you're the one who was waiting by my bed…I don't want to be by myself here…" She glanced around. "It feels empty."

"That's only because it's the middle of the night. Everyone's their dorms."

"Then why aren't you?" She asked as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I didn't want you to wake up to just the furball's face. I figured you'd want to see something sexy when you opened you eyes." He smirked. She stared.

"I'm friends with you?"

"Well, not exactly." He muttered. Her expression became horrified.

"We aren't…dating?"

"Um, well no, I wouldn't say that. We've just recently been getting to know each other. I've been teaching you to fly."

"Fly? Am I at a RAF academy or something?" She asked.

"This is going to harder to explain than I thought…"

* * *

"He is adorable." Hermione said with a smile, petting Teume affectionately. Draco leaned back in his chair, feeling the first morning rays of the sun falling across his back. He had spent the whole night trying to explain the wizarding world to Hermione. She seemed receptive, even admitting she had had some strange experiences when she was younger. Teume enchanted her now, and she was constantly petting him.

"Mr. Malfoy." Madame Pomfrey said sternly from his left. He spun his head sharply, looking at her with wide eyes. "Have you been here all night?"

"Yes." He said, trying not to sound meek.

"Dumbledore excused you from today's classes so you could _sleep_, not keep my patient up all night!"

"She only woke up a couple hours ago." Draco argued, "And I think she may have been obliviated." Madame Pomfrey looked aghast, "I've been trying to make her feel not so utterly alone, since she doesn't know anything about where she is." He squeezed her hand in his, giving her a soft look.

Now Hogwart's healer was confused. This was certainly not the Draco Malfoy she knew. The one that had whined and moaned from simple bruises every other day. The one that had caused many of the mishaps she dealt with weekly.

She had seen the way he brought her in the night before, cradling her in his arms, trying to soothe the enormous fox that followed him. The way he had laid the young woman down on the hospital bed, listening carefully to what she and Dumbledore both said. Hermione would be fine, her throat had the most damage, but even that was easily fixable. A day of soreness would be the most pain she would have. He relaxed noticeably.

Dumbledore then asked what had happened and Madame Pomfrey saw nothing but absolute fury in the grey eyes of the young man. He explained about the disgusting Slytherins and told Dumbledore where they were lying stunned by the Forbidden Forest. She saw Dumbledore's eyes spark with that ice that was so rare, but so scary. He then told Draco calmly that he was excused from all classes the next day and swept out of the room. She did not want to be in those nasty boy's shoes. She let Draco stay by Hermione's bedside.

But now, in the bright light of morning, she knew he needed sleep.

"You need sleep, Mr. Malfoy. I can take care of Hermione. I've dealt with an obliviate mishap many times before. Go to your dormitory."

"I can't leave her here." He said, looking at her. She looked back and Madame Pomfrey saw a semblance of trust in her eyes. So strange for one who has been obliviated, and so strange to see directed at a boy who had tormented her for so long. The healer sighed heavily.

"All right, Mr. Malfoy. I can see I will not be able to sway you. Please go retrieve some breakfast for yourself at least."

"What about her?" He asked.

"Teas and soups only for a couple hours." Madame Pomfrey said firmly. Hermione touched her throat again lightly, wincing. "And when you return, you will not pester her, but let her sleep. She has been through a lot."

"I know." Draco said, releasing her hand, but brushing some of her hair back before blowing her a kiss. "I'll be right back." He strode out of the room and Hermione stared after him. Then she looked at Madame Pomfrey.

"He seems nice. He wouldn't answer me honestly on who he is to me." Hermione said, tilting her head. "I'm very confused. It seems like…we're an item. But he sends such mixed messages."

Madame Pomfrey chuckled.

"Dearie me, I wouldn't know. I don't keep up with the many little relationships of the students here. I would go crazy! Now, time for some infused tea. It will help with your throat." She handed Hermione a cup and the girl swallowed it gratefully, already feeling relief spread to her throat. Though it was the strangest day of her life, it was certainly not the worst.

Draco walked slowly from the hospital wing, glancing back behind him. He was glad Madame Pomfrey didn't kick him out entirely. He didn't want to leave Hermione alone now. He could still see her in his mind's eye:

Eyes squeezed shut, blouse gone, standing stiff in her bare legs. A wand at her throat, a gag in her mouth.

It sickened him.

It sickened him even more that he knew the blokes who had done it. Not that they were close friends, but he'd hung out with all three of them before.

Warren, who couldn't control his acne, even with magic. It was pretty much a reflection of his character; greasy, dirty, spotty, gross to look at. Lyle, the enormous beater with small intelligence. Sure, he wasn't as stupid as Crabbe and Goyle, but he was into some nastier things. Torture of animals, abuse of girls and shit. Draco hated shit like that. Then there was Boyd; their lackey. Quiet sort, girls seemed to like him. Would probably like him more if he weren't so short and quiet. But he hated muggle borns more than anyone Draco knew. Including his father. It surprised him that Boyd would even help Warren and Lyle touch Hermione, much less what they were planning. Then again, he obviously knew nothing about his fellow Slytherins. Sure they were darker than most houses, especially compared to the Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors, but Draco didn't think they would cross the line of attempted rape.

If he didn't know that Dumbledore had probably already gotten rid of them, he would go back to the dormitory and kill them.

He glanced up at the Great Hall doors. That had been a quick walk. He walked in quietly, going over to eat. He sat at the end of the table, immediately starting to fill his plate. Curiosity got the better of him and he looked over at the Gryffindor table, more specifically where the Golden Trio sat.

Ron and Harry were eating quietly, talking to themselves. Draco leaned back so he could hear them.

"You think she's still mad?" Ron said.

"I dunno. I don't really see a reason for her to be mad at us." Harry grumbled.

"Yeah, but you know how 'Mione is. She can be kinda moody." Ron said. Harry nodded and Draco silently agreed. She definitely could.

Suddenly the Weaselette appeared, sitting down. She looked mildly distressed. She glanced at Ron and Harry.

"Hey uh…you guys haven't seen Hermione, have you?" The boys looked at her.

"Um no. We figured she just hadn't come down from her dorm this morning."

"Well uh…that's the thing, she didn't even come back last night."

"What? We saw her go upstairs to bed last night." Ron said.

"Yeah, but she told me she was going out later to go flying by herself." Ginny said, her eyes downcast. "And she did. But she never came back."

"She never came back??" Ron said. "What if Malfoy kidnapped her! I mean, sure she said she went flying by herself, but obviously she went to sneak around with him again."

"I don't think so." Ginny said. She looked up, "She told me that he couldn't make it to their practice last night. She wanted to use my broom to just practice by herself."

"She's still practicing with Malfoy?!" Harry said, indignant. "I thought she was through after that last time when he interrupted us."

"Well, no." Ginny replied honestly, "But she's been borrowing my broom so they aren't on the same one. She wants to focus on flying." She explained.

"But what if she was lying about last night, what if she was really meeting Malfoy, but it wasn't for flying, and they snuck off somewhere." Ron said. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Well, first of all, she wouldn't lie to me about that. And secondly, Malfoy is sitting right behind you guys."

Draco winced. The Weaselette had a way of exposing him when he was trying to be sneaky. He heard the two boys swing around.

"Oi! Malfoy!" Ron yelled. Draco rolled his eyes, turning around.

"I'm sitting right here, you don't have to yell." He said flatly.

"Have you seen Hermione around?" Harry asked. Draco was taken aback. No accusatory tone or demanding allegation, just a plain and simple question. He wanted to be honest. But he was worried about how Hermione would react to three people (maybe more, if it spread) traipsing into her room when she barely knew him.

"Well." He started, then stopped. He wasn't sure how to continue.

"Just tell us where she is!" Ron's tone was definitely accusatory and demanding.

"She's in the hospital wing." He sighed. They stared at him.

"What did you do?!" Harry said, his eyes dark. Draco blinked, surprised.

"I didn't do anything! I saved her!" He growled out. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Sure you did. What happened?!"

Draco glanced around at everyone else. There were a couple other people listening to the conversation about Hermione. Harry glanced around as well, and nodded at Draco.

"Let's walk up to the hospital wing, shall we?" They agreed and cleared up their places, then all got up and headed out to the Great Hall. Once they were out, and no one was around, Harry turned back to Draco. "Well, what happened?"

"Some guys…jumped her. While she was out practicing alone last night."

"Why would you let her practice alone?!" Ron asked. Draco sighed.

"I didn't know she was practicing alone until later. I certainly wouldn't have suggested it."

"When you say 'jumped'…?" Harry prodded, his eyes narrowing. Draco looked away. He just couldn't tell the story again. It made him too angry. Ginny gasped.

"No!" She said, her tone high pitched. Harry looked at her quickly.

"What is it?" He asked. Ginny looked at Draco again.

"Did the guys…." She trailed off, looking at Draco for confirmation. He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. It was hard.

"They tried." He answered, "I stopped them."

"They what??" Ron said, getting antsy. Ginny looked at Harry and Ron solemnly.

"They tried to….touch her and stuff." She said, not blunt for the first time. Harry and Ron stopped walking.

"What?" Harry said softly, his green eyes dark. "Who did it?" He asked severely, his piercing eyes directly on Draco. Draco shook his head.

"I already took care of it. And told Dumbledore. I'm sure he's expelled them by now."

"I want to know their names." Harry repeated. "So if I see them _**ever**_, later in life I can kill them on sight." Ron nodded in agreement. Ginny looked nervous. Draco shook his head.

"No. Hermione wouldn't want you to do that."

"It isn't her decision." Ron said, his eyes burning. Draco shrugged.

"No, it's mine. And I've decided not to tell you. Simple as that." He stopped in front of the doors to the hospital beds. "Now, the other thing you need to know is a small obliviate spell hit her. She's a little fuzzy." He explained, before he walked in. Madame Pomfrey was gone, and Hermione had propped herself up on pillows so she could see out the window. She was gazing out, but at the sound of the door, she turned and saw Malfoy. Her eyes lit up.

"Draco!" She said happily. Then she saw the people following him. "Hi…" She said cautiously. She looked back at Malfoy. "Who are these people?"

"Um…" Draco wasn't sure how to explain. He glanced at his companions. Ron's jaw was dropped, staring at the girl who used to have nothing but contempt for a Malfoy. Harry was blinking rapidly as if trying to clear the scene laid out in front of him. Ginny on the other hand, was looking from Hermione to Draco and back again, a slight smile creeping onto her face. "Well, Hermione, these are some of your friends from before." He finished with a wave at them.

"Oh?" Hermione said with a smile. She looked at the three unknown people, then back at Draco, waiting.

Fuck. He had to introduce them. He sighed and started with the easiest.

"This is Harry Potter." He waved at the dark haired young man, never imagining in his wildest dreams that he'd be doing this. He looked at Ron, wrinkling his nose. "And Ron Weasley." Then he glanced at the Weaselette. And drew a blank. His expression became panicked. Goddammit! What was her name! Ron and Harry smirked at him as Hermione waited with an innocent smile. The red headed minx on the other hand, gave him a soft smile before she mouthed something.

"This is…" He tried to understand what she was mouthing, "Gin….Journ….oh! Ginny." He said, blushing slightly. "Ginny. She's the Weasel's sister."

Hermione tilted her head at the reference to Ron. Ginny stepped closer, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"This is just absolutely awful, Hermione!" She reached for Hermione's hand that had been lying on her lap. Hermione's eyes fluttered at the unexpected contact. Ginny patted her hand as she sighed. "I mean, obliviated." She paused. "Not that I've ever been, of course. Or really know anyone who has been. Well, except our former teacher." She winked, then remembered Hermione had no idea who she was talking about, and chuckled half-heartedly. "Yah, well, you wouldn't know anything about that."

"Ginny, you're going too fast." Harry said, stepping in and sitting on the chair next to Hermione's bed. Draco frowned, but took a step back, letting her real friends get closer. It wasn't really his place anyways. "Are you doing okay? I bet this is overwhelming." Harry said with a soft smile. Hermione nodded, gently pulling her hand from Ginny's.

Draco turned, walking to the door. He thought it would be better to leave her alone with Potter and the Weasels. He didn't even understand why it was so important to be with her. He couldn't believe how much he liked the way she looked at him now. It was disgustingly deceitful, the way she trusted him. The boy who had tormented her. Who she had slugged back in third year. He remembered being that boy. How he had hated her. Who she was; what she was. What had happened to that boy?

Then he remembered flying with her.

It was amazing. Her determination. Her passion. He could still remember that first time he'd gotten her to get onto her broom. It was a chilly evening, but he was perfectly comfortable in his robes. He could remember telling Crabbe and Goyle that he needed to go practice on his own. Then out in the pitch, he was surprised to see a mousy head in Gryffindor colors wrestling with a stubborn school broom. And though a spark of astonishment went through him, he forced himself back into the regular sneer.

_"Rumor has it Granger is afraid to fly." He teased from a couple feet above her. She crossed her arms and tossed her hair angrily._

_"I am not!"_

The fire in her words. And how she just wouldn't give up. Even when he taunted her mercilessly.

So he decided to help. Draco didn't know why, even to this day, but he had decided to help Hermione Granger on that chilly day. And it had changed him.

And he didn't regret a bit of it.

He stopped in front of the hospitals wings doors, leaning back against them. He pondered for a moment on where he should go now. After his discussion with Pansy last night, he was disinclined to go back to the Slytherin Dorms.

He'd been in the middle of telling her she'd better not mention another word to his parents about "his new girl". Mum and Dad were already asking too many questions and Pansy didn't even know who the girl was. If the Slytherin girl knew it was Hermione Granger, she'd go ballistic. Not to mention his parents. He'd rather avoid that, at least for the time being.

His first step had been shutting Pansy up. So he took her to the edge of the lake, which she associated with both their past romantic excursions and when he wanted to have a serious talk. He immediately explained it was the latter. Then he said that the new girl was shy and her parents were weird about Slytherins, so he wanted to keep it quiet. Fortunately, in the last year, Pansy had gotten much less possessive and more of a mate, so she accepted this easily.

_Pansy gave him a grin._

_"It's a Hufflepuff, isn't it?" She said, laughing. Draco made a face._

_"Come on, Pansy, what do you think of me? Seeing a Hufflepuff? Ugh." He replied, leaning back in the grass. It was cool, but not uncomfortable. Draco had taken his robes off and was lounging in his uniform. Pansy had done the same. He resisted comparing his former romantic interest's legs with Hermione's, but couldn't help himself. Hermione's were better toned, and a bit longer. He would bet it was from all the shit her, Potter, and Weasel managed to get into. But he no longer really thought of Pansy in that way. And she was seeing some idiot now. The prat been warned properly about treating her right, of course. So far the dark haired Slytherin had no complaints to report._

_"So it's a Ravenclaw." Pansy said. It wasn't a question. Of course it wasn't. The alternative was Gryffindor, and everyone knew Draco wouldn't touch a girl from Gryffindor. Blaise, maybe, but not Draco. He didn't bother correcting Pansy. She smiled at him. "I'm glad you're happy." He gave her a half-smile back._

_"Yeah. I think I am, actually."_

_Suddenly, in the distance was a yipping. Draco straightened. That yipping was familiar. He looked back to see a red streak heading for them._

_The fox stopped in front of the pair, yipping insistently at Malfoy. The blonde stared back. Pansy blinked._

_"What is that?"_

_"Shh." He said, clipped. He focused on the fox. "What is it?" He knew it had something to do with Hermione, but he couldn't figure it out. The fox looked back towards the Forbidden Forest and growled, raising the fur along it's spine in anger. Draco frowned. It was definitely something bad. He got to his feet quickly. "Pansy, I've got to go."_

_"Uh…do you need my help?"_

_"No, thanks though!" He said, starting to follow the fox, "What's wrong with Granger?" He demanded. A shriek came faintly from behind him,_

_"Granger??"  
_

* * *

**_Yep, I ended with a flashback. Sorry! But the next chapter is almost done, so it shouldn't take too long to post! Reviews always help, of course!!_**


	8. The Unknown

_I know it's been a while. I want to thank everyone who's been so patient. I really appreciate it. I've been in such a rut in my life...writing took the worse of the blow. But I'm better now, so there should be much faster updating! And I made it extra long!_

_Of course, as always, reviews makes that updating even faster!!_

_Enjoy!!_

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The Unknown**

Draco came out of his thoughts. Pansy obviously knew it was Granger he was going to find. Despite her reputation as being not too intelligent, she was smart enough to put two and two together and figure out about Draco seeing Hermione in a romantic sense.

Should he even use that term, "romantic"? It had really only been sexual. At the most. Otherwise, it was more of a friendship now; still struggling to get to its feet, like a newborn colt.

Malfoy stumbled as the door swung sharply inward. He was met with Potter's bright green eyes. They were cool.

"I thought you might be hanging around." Harry said, no emotion in his voice. He glanced back in the room. Teume had joined the group, and Ginny was happily patting him, while Ron gave it a wary scratch around his left leg. Hermione was lying back on her pillow, eyes closed. "She asked for you." Harry said quietly, "You shouldn't have just left so abruptly. Though it doesn't surprise me." He said flatly. Malfoy sneered. "Yeah, I didn't think you had changed. But Hermione was telling us about how you were waiting for her to wake up." Harry commented, leaning back on the doorframe. "So now I'm just confused."

"That's my goal Potter." Draco drawled, "Confusing the fuck out of you." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Look, whatever game you're playing with Hermione, you've somehow got her believing you're some nice guy. You and I both know you aren't. But I'm going to let you continue the charade for her sake, until she's feels more like herself. But I'm warning you, Malfoy, one mistake, and I'll make sure you'll never fly a broom again. Hell, you may not even be in a state to walk." Harry said. His tone was casual, but his eyes were piercing. Draco nodded. "Now, she wants to see you before she goes back to sleep." Harry turned and walked back into the room. Malfoy followed slowly. He stopped near the foot of her bed and she opened her eyes, looking at him. He could hear Ron groan from his right and resisted the urge to scoff at him. Instead he focused on the soft brown eyes staring at him. Hermione smiled faintly.

"Are they going to let Teume stay with me? I don't want to be here by myself." She murmured, her voice still scratchy. She shivered. "For some reason I don't want to be alone…there's something…someone…" She stopped, her brow wrinkling with frustration, "I can't remember." She sighed.

"It's okay." Draco said, moving even closer. He ignored Ron grumbling again, sitting right down on the edge of her bed. "Don't force it." He smiled at her and she smiled back. "I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will let Teume stay a little longer. But I don't have classes today, so I would be happy to stay here with you."

"You don't have any classes?" Harry asked, "That's impossible. We have Care of Magical Creatures today."

Malfoy sighed heavily.

"I meant what I said, Potter. _**I **_do not have classes today." He replied snidely.

"How did that happen?" demanded Ron, "Skiving off, are you, Malfoy?"

"No. I have permission from Dumbledore."

"No you don't." Harry replied immediately.

"Yes." Draco replied, becoming annoyed, "I do. I spent last night rescuing Granger, carrying her to the hospital wing, watching her while she recovered. What did you do, Potter?" He said coolly. Harry stared back silently.

"What did you rescue me from?" Hermione asked, tilting her head. Draco froze, looking slowly back at her. Harry pursed his lips. Hermione looked back innocently.

"You were…attacked." Malfoy said quietly.

"By what?" She asked, her eyes widening. One of her hands went to her throat, touching tenderly. Draco looked away, refusing to answer. Hermione looked at Harry imploringly. He sighed.

"I'm not exactly sure of the circumstances myself, but Malfoy explained that some students attacked you." He explained, then also looked away from her. Hermione blinked a couple times.

"Students? Attacked me?? Why?" She touched her throat again. Harry wouldn't answer this time, so she looked at Ron. He shook his head, looking down. Hermione then focused her attention on Ginny. The redheaded girl looked back, speechless. "Ginny?" It was to her credit that she remembered the name of the Weasely girl. Ginny sighed heavily. Malfoy gave her a sharp look, but she ignored him.

"It was a couple boys. They…tried to take advantage of you." Ginny mumbled.

"Ginny!" Ron said. Harry squeezed his eyes shut. Teume gave a low growl. It was Draco that looked quickly at Hermione. Her face was expressionless, processing. He reached out, grabbing her hand and clasping it. She looked at him hollowly, but did not pull her hand away.

"Did they…manage to-"

"No." Draco said firmly, "I stopped them."

"How far?" She whispered.

"What??" He said, shocked.

"I asked; how far did they get?" She said, her tone firm. This was a bit of the old Hermione. He glanced back at the other guests, seeing Ron frown and Harry's eyes narrow, also waiting for the information. "Tell me! I have a right to know!" She said, her voice rising. She leaned forward angrily. Teume whined.

"Shhhh. You'll make Madame Pomfrey throw us out." said Draco, reaching out and pushing her back against the pillow gently.

"Then tell me." She repeated stubbornly.

"All right, all right." He relented, taking a deep breath. "I didn't see all of it, but when I arrived, you were in your bra and a skirt, minus socks and shoes." He said, trying to keep his tone explanative, but some disgust crept into his voice.

"Oh, I'll bet you enjoy that, Malfoy." said Ron indignantly. Malfoy flipped around, on his feet immediately. Teume half-rose as well.

"What did you say Weasely?? Believe me, I am not disgusting like those three wankers who; I might inform you, I _**personally **_hexed, as well as brought Hermione back here!"

"It's Hermione, is it?" Ron said darkly, also getting to his feet. "I'll bet you obliviated her yourself! Just so you could fuck with her!"

"Guys!" Ginny protested, but they ignored her.

"Oh yeah. I rescued her from rapists, managed to save her just before some arsehole almost choked her to death just to obliviate her! All to play some sort of sick game!"

"Sounds just like you, Malfoy." Ron retorted. He took a step forward, hands moving up in a sort of defensive position. Teume was on his feet now, watching closely. Draco snorted in amusement.

"You think you can try something like that with me??"

"Even Hermione could sock you one." Ron responded smugly. Draco threw up his hands.

"Why does everyone bring that up?! Look Weasely, Merlin knows I can't stand you. Hell, I would even say I hate your guts, but this is just stupid. I don't even understand what's going on with me and Granger, but it's definitely not some sort of sick game I'm playing with her. Get that through your thick skull." He gritted out. Ron dropped his hands in surprise. Harry coughed quietly.

"I think, perhaps, that those of us who have classes today should go." He got to his feet as well, looking pointedly at Ron. Ginny was up immediately, grabbing her brother and pulling him to the door. She waved cheerily at Hermione.

"See you later Hermione!"

Harry stood still for a moment, scrutinizing the Slytherin.

"That was quite a performance there, Malfoy."

"It was not a performance." Draco said angrily.

"Maybe. But I still don't trust you. Unfortunately, we do have to be in class, unlike you. But we'll be back later. And everything better be fine. I warn you Malfoy, if you are fucking with Hermione in any way, you'll regret it. Do we understand each other?

"Just fine." Draco said curtly. Harry gave a short nod before walking out of the room. Malfoy turned back to Hermione. She was looking at him, her eyes focused. Teume sat down, putting his head back on her lap.

"They don't seem to like you." She said brusquely. He shrugged, moving to sit next to her again.

"Well, to be honest, we weren't even friends before a couple weeks ago. In fact, you, Weasely, and Potter were pretty much the highest on my list of prats I despised."

"Oh?" She said, "It doesn't seem like that now."

"Oh don't get me wrong, Potter and Weasely are still high on that list, you've just somehow…dropped off. I don't know why." He finished, glancing at the fox for a moment. His head was now on the chair next to the bed and his eyes were drifting shut as Hermione's hand stroked him between the ears absently.

"Why what?" She asked, looking at him. He sighed heavily, then came to a decision and leaned closer to her. She looked up at him, here eyes wide. Teume sensed something and pulled back, going to lay by the window.

His silver eyes bore down and she felt herself bend closer to him. He also moved closer to her, and lightly touched his lips to hers. Her eyes fluttered shut and she mewled. He leaned in further, his arms on either side of her, the upper half of his body pressing against her. The kiss deepened and she moaned lightly.

One of his hands drifted down, brushing against her waist, then lower, to her hip, holding her. He wasn't sure why he was gripping her so tightly. Holding her to him? Holding her still? In any sense, it was to keep this moment from disappearing. She only moaned again, arching slightly. He growled, his fingers stroking roughly against her hip. She arched more, and he pulled back slightly, his lips moving to her neck and nipping. "Draco…" she murmured. He paused, taken aback, before he smiled and squeezed her hip lightly. She giggled. Then he nipped at her neck a little more roughly. Her giggle turned into another moaned instantly.

His hand drifted up a couple inches, pulling up the fabric of the nightie. He slipped under it, then under her panties, touching the bare skin of her hip. Her moans got louder. He pulled back, looking at her face.

Her eyes were closed, her face flushed, and her mouth forming a soft "O". A smile appeared on Draco's face. Her eyes fluttered open.

"See what I mean?" He asked.

"Wh-what?" She whispered faintly.

"That attraction. It's not natural." He said lazily, still stroking her hip lightly. She stared at him with glassy eyes, "To be honest, I've never had any sort of attraction to you until recently."

"I…" She paused, forcing herself to focus. "I remember…a conversation…about…flying…" Voices drifted into her consciousness. She recognized one as her own and one as…the redhead. The girl.

"_Have you…uh, ever ridden on a broom with someone else?"_

_"Maybe…"_

_"Is it always so…intimate?"_

_"Ah. Yeah, pretty much. I mean, two people on one little branch of wood, it's going to be pretty close quarters."_

_"So…the thing between Malfoy and I could be caused by us just being on a broom together?"_

Hermione shook herself free of the memory. Malfoy was looking at her with concern. "With Ginny. She said that riding on a broom with another person is extremely intimate. Our attraction could be caused by that." Hermione reasoned, a small smile on her face.

He stared at her. She could be right. That's when the attraction had started. But he thought about it harder.

"Well…I'm not attracted to you just because of sitting on a broom with you. I think it's because…well, because when I saw you stubbornly trying to teach yourself to fly, I just…found it amazing." He smirked, "At first I just wanted to show up Potter by teaching you to fly. But then…" He paused, his eyes un-focusing, "Merlin, your passion, the determination in staying on that broom. It was just so…enlightening." He focused on her again. She smiled shyly.

"You make it sound so romantic. Something tells me it wasn't." She said. Draco chuckled.

"Hell no. We fought every step of the way." He leaned in, giving her a peck on the cheek, "And I'm sure we will continue bugging the bloody hell out of each other."

"Are we…dating then?" She asked, tilting her head.

"No." Malfoy replied immediately. She blinked in surprise. He hastened to elaborate, "What I mean is; you were just obliviated, we don't know how you would really feel about me. You don't remember me for who I really am right now. You don't remember how…we were…before the flying. I think that's important that you do before any sort of relationship." He explained. Hermione stared at him.

"You sound too good to be true."

"Yeah. I might be."

"That's a bit worrisome." She said. He gave her a sad smile.

"I'm a little worried myself."

* * *

"This is your bed." said Ginny with a flourish, pointing to bed clad in burgundy sheets. It was one of four in the room. Hermione stared at everything all around her. After another day in the hospital wing, as she now knew it was called, she just couldn't stand lying in bed anymore. Her throat was better, so Madame Pomfrey technically had no reason to hold the girl. And the supposed brightest witch of her generation figured she could adjust to all of this more easily by actually experiencing it, not just snoozing on and off in a hospital bed. And the headmaster concurred, letting her return to her common room. He said that she could go to her classes if she wished, but not to strain herself with all the homework and tests.

She sat on the dark sheets, finding them quite comfortable. At least she wasn't alone. Though she wasn't sure Ginny would have been her first choice.

Ginny had escorted her for a couple reasons.

The first being that boys were not able to get into the girls dormitories, which Harry had patiently explained when she asked why Draco couldn't show her.  
To which Ron added that Malfoy wasn't the same House, so he wouldn't be even permitted into their common room, much less her bedroom.  
Then Ginny added that Draco being in a difference house didn't mean he wasn't _**allowed**_, it just meant he had to be invited. Then Ron had grumbled that Draco would never be invited to the Gryffindor Houseroom. Then Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance as the two siblings got into an argument on whether Draco Malfoy would ever be invited into their common room or not.

"This feels familiar…" murmured Hermione. Harry grinned at her.

"Oh yes. It only happens about four times a day." He explained. She smiled back triumphantly. She could get through this.

And so the four of them had returned to their common room together, the three with perfect memories talking amicably. Hermione listened politely, and they tried to include her in the conversation, but it was hard to include someone who had no idea about anything they'd done for the past six years.

And now she apparently had burgundy sheets. They were soft. But not what she remembered. She used to favor blue, as far as she knew. But it wasn't like she could ignore the gold and red covering the entire room downstairs, and adorning the uniforms of her friends. Apparently Hermione was devoted to her house. She smoothed an invisible wrinkle as she waited for Ginny to say something. The redhead coughed uncomfortably and Hermione looked up.

"Uh, well. I think that you, Harry, and Ron have Potions in a little bit, if you want to go?" Ginny asked. Hermione nodded immediately.

"Yes. I want to see what this place is like as soon as possible." She glanced around. She was currently wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt under a borrowed black school robe, not appropriate for a class. "My clothes?" She asked Ginny. Ginny bit her lip, seeming to think hard about something, before she broke into a grin.

"In your trunk." She pointed at a trunk to the left of the burgundy clad bed. Hermione blinked, going over and opening the top. Sure enough, it was filled with piles of the Hogwarts uniform. She pulled out a skirt and a blouse, then dug deeper to find underwear.

"Um…is this what I usually wear, Ginny?" Hermione asked the other girl, pulling out a matching set of red lacy underwear. Ginny snorted for a moment, before she composed herself and nodded emphatically.

"You're quite fond of red now. And matching. And hey, you are 17, aren't you?" Ginny asked. Hermione shrugged, accepting the answer. She stood and glanced at Ginny again.

"Uh…could I have some privacy?" She asked, embarrassed. Ginny blushed.

"Oh, of course. I just thought you should know your robes are in that closet behind your trunk." She pointed. Hermione glanced behind her and nodded.

"Thanks a lot, Ginny." She said, smiling. The younger girl beamed back.

"See you in a bit!" She said, starting to leave the room. She paused, looking over her shoulder "Oh, and Hermione? Let me do something with your hair before you leave. You always let me play with your hair before class...before." She explained. Hermione blinked, then touched her bushy brown hair slowly. She supposed that with the discovery of magic in her life, perhaps she had begun to be able to tame her hair. She nodded at the redhead. Ginny smiled again and then left. Hermione settled to the task of dressing herself in the strange garb.

* * *

Oh god, was she late. No wonder Harry and Ron had left without her. Messing with her hair had taken longer than Ginny had said it would. But it sure felt better. Though Hermione hadn't had a chance to look at it before running from the common room. She hurried to the room that Ginny had said was Potions.

She hesitated before she opened the door. She didn't know if she should go in. Perhaps the teacher would be displeased with her being late? She moved uncomfortably from foot to foot.

Although, she had bigger problems to worry about.

Like how her bra seemed a cup size too small. And a push-up, which she certainly didn't need. And how her skirt seemed much too short for a proper uniform. And her blouse seemed to stretch a little bit too much across her chest, and hug her curves intimately.  
Speaking of hugging her curves, were her robes a size too small? They certainly felt like they were. Hermione was pretty sure that robes should not cling to her like this.

But as mentioned before, she was late. And therefore, had no time to change.

She opened the door.

Every single student turned and looked at Hermione as she entered. It was not just because she was late. Nor because most had heard the rumor about Hermione having been obliviated.

It was entirely how she looked. No one had seen Hermione wear a uniform like that. And she had done something different with her hair. It was smooth and the curls relaxed, and extremely shiny.

Even Snape's jaw dropped a couple millimeters. Hermione looked hesitantly around the room, then met the annoyed eyes of her professor. He frowned, composing himself immediately.

"Well, you finally decided to join us, Miss Granger?" He said coldly. She looked down shyly.

"I'm very sorry…" She murmured, before she looked up quickly to find someone with a sympathetic expression. It was a girl with dark hair that looked at her with surprise, and curiosity that Hermione deemed the least threatening. Her supposed friends, Ron and Harry had a stricken look on their faces. She had her suspicions about her clothing now. She would have to have a talk with Ginny later.

She moved and sat down next to the girl with dark hair, giving her a small smile. It was a moment later that she noticed the color of the girl's uniform definitely did not have any red or gold in it. It was silver and green. The girl raised an eyebrow at Hermione sitting next to her.

A couple seats over was Draco Malfoy, staring dumbfounded at Hermione. He had been hidden from her view by Crabbe's huge bulk when she'd been scanning the room, but he had a clear view of her now. Was that a bit of red lace peaking out of her blouse at the top? And her hair actually looked amazing. Malfoy frowned, not liking it, as it didn't fit her. Not that he wasn't enjoying the clothing. He was confused.

Then she sat down next to Pansy.

His jaw dropped. There was a perfectly good spot next to her buddies, Potter and Weasel. But she had made a beeline for his former girlfriend like she was some sort of life preserver. Which Malfoy was pretty sure was quite far from the truth.

Hermione glanced over the girl's arm at the textbook that lay open as Snape droned on. She bit her lip, trying to understand the writing in front of her.

"What on earth possessed you to sit next to me, Granger?" Pansy asked with annoyance. Not malice though.

To be honest, the Slytherin female was mildly curious about Granger since she heard her best friend say her name before running off after some enormous canine. She had heard the rumors about Granger's memory issues, and was actually kind of amused by the state of the former Gryffindor prude extraordinaire. The Granger that Pansy knew would never wear the clothes she was wearing.

"I uh…I don't know many people right now…" murmured Hermione while she gnawed on her lower lip. "You just…looked like you uh…might like someone to sit next to you?" She finished with a rising inflection. She was certainly nervous. Pansy was surprised. That was actually slightly true. Draco had been avoiding her since she'd heard him exclaim about Granger. This caused Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise to sit over with Draco. And she had been extremely annoyed to be sitting by herself in Potions.

She attempted a smile at Granger.

"I'm Pansy." She inclined her head, whispering because of the lecture going on. Hermione smiled.

"Hermione. And I'm so glad to meet you." She replied, also with lowered voice.

Then the girls turned and started listening to Snape. One attentively, while trying to understand him. The other absentmindedly, wondering about the brown haired girl next to her.

* * *

"Class dismissed." Snape drawled. Everyone started packing up and there was silence until Snape glanced up from the papers he was organizing. "Oh, and Miss Granger? If you would wait a moment, I would like to have a word with you." He said, his eyes narrowed. Hermione stared back in fear. Her gut told her it would not be a good talk. Pansy noticed the expression and shrugged, saying,

"He probably just wants to see how you're feeling." She said while packing her books. Hermione shoved her stuff into her satchel and smiled at Pansy.

"Thanks for letting me sit next to you." Then she moved away so that Pansy could reach the exit.

"So how was sitting with Granger all period?" Draco cut in with a smirk. Then his smirked deepened, "Well, almost all period. After all, Granger was late, wasn't she?" He said, looking at Hermione. She looked back with surprise. She hadn't realized he was in this class too. And he was acting…kind of…different. She blinked at him. His eyes raked over her briefly.

So did the attractive guy who was standing next to the blond.

"Wow, Granger. I've never seen you wear anything like that. Not so prudish, are you? What happened to the blouses three sizes too big?" The dark haired, Italian boy said. Hermione blushed, though her eyes remained confused. The boy smiled, offering his hand. "Ah, right. Blaise Zabini." He said with a chuckle. Hermione took his hand slowly, but instead of shaking it, Zabini brought it to his lips and kissed it lightly.  
Her blushed darkened. And Draco resisted the urge to slug his friend in the face.

"I uh…I have to speak with Professor Snape." Hermione murmured, stepping away. Her gaze lingered a moment on Draco's and he watched her walk up to his house head. He glanced at his friends.

"I'll catch up, okay?" Crabbe and Goyle shrugged and moved away. Zabini frowned, opening his mouth to argue, but Pansy grabbed his arm.

"Come on, _**Blaise**_." She snapped, pulling him from the room.

"What did you do to Hermione?" came a new voice and Draco glanced behind him to see Harry and Ron frowning at him. Harry had a hand nearing his pocket, obviously thinking about going for his wand. Ron had his arms crossed.

"I'm sure I don't know what the hell you two are talking about." Malfoy droned. Harry frowned.

"I like to think I've come to know Hermione pretty well over the past six years. And the Hermione I know would never own clothes like that. And she certainly wouldn't wear them." He growled at Draco, "And the only new thing in her life recently, is you. Therefore any new developments must be influenced by you."

"Your logic amazes me." Malfoy replied sarcastically. "Except for the fact that I have not seen Granger for almost a day now, and where would I get clothes like that? And how would I persuade her to wear them? She may have been obliviated, but she isn't stupid. She wouldn't put clothes like that on if a guy told her to." He paused, thinking. "Seems like something only a woman could convince another woman to do."

"_**Ginny**_." hissed Ron, looking at Harry aghast. The boy-who-lived stared back.

"Ginny?" He questioned, "Why would she do that?"

"I have no idea, except for her wanting to invite Malfoy into our common room." Ron said with disgust.

"The Weaselette wanted to invite me over to your common room?" Malfoy asked, eyebrow raised. Harry frowned.

"That is not what she said. She said it was possible, not that she wanted it to happen."

"Remember her telling us about loaning Hermione her broom to 'practice flying' with Ferret here." Ron pointed out. Malfoy rolled his eyes.  
"Maybe she would convince Hermione to wear uniforms that are too small. Maybe she gave Hermione one of her uniforms!" Ron concluded. Harry frowned, shaking his head.

"No, that isn't possible."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. Malfoy laughed, realizing what Harry knew.

"What Potter means, Weaselbee, is that the Granger could not possibly be wearing a blouse of Weaselette's. Nor a bra of Weaselette's." Draco said with another peal of laughter.

"What?" Ron demanded, not quite grasping.

"Uh…Ginny…Ginny…is" Harry tried to explained, but couldn't. Draco laughed even harder.

"What he means, stupid Weasel, is that your sister has a larger bust than Granger, and therefore, her clothes would not be…so restraining as they are currently upon Granger." Malfoy said with a smile. Ron blinked, then frowned at Harry.

"You know what size bra my sister wears?" He asked. Harry's eyes widened. Malfoy chuckled.

"As fascinating as this is…" He trailed off, turning to see if Hermione was done yet. She was nodding at Snape, looking slightly upset. Draco decided to rescue her. After all, the poor obliviated witch could probably take only so much. And Draco knew how much Snape disliked her.

"Hey Professor." Draco said chattily, walking up behind Granger. She flinched, looking at him silently. Snape frowned at his supposed favorite student.

"Can I help you, Draco?" He asked sternly.

"Just wondering what you're yelling at Granger about. After all, she probably won't remember it in the morning." Malfoy said with a laugh. He didn't want to give too much away to his teacher. Snape looked at Malfoy critically.

"Granger, we're done. You know what I expect."

"Yes sir." She murmured, looking at Draco quietly, before she moved to leave. Draco made a move to follow when Snape's cold voice interrupted.

"Draco, a moment." He clipped. Malfoy paused, then glanced at Hermione.

"Later, Granger." He said with a smirk. She blinked, then caught up with Harry and Ron, who had apparently finished arguing. They left the room and Malfoy turned to look at Snape. "Yes, Professor?" He asked calmly. Snape looked at him silently.

"I hear you were the one to discover Miss Granger after...the incident." Snape said quietly. Draco nodded, not replying. Snape paused, looking at some items on his desk. "Draco, I'm going to ask you a question, and I would like you to answer me honestly."

"I'll try." Draco replied.

"You seem to have a changed opinion of Miss Granger. Is this true?"

"Well, Professor, I'm not heartless. I'm not going to let any girl have that done to her. Even Granger." Draco explained calmly. Snape frowned.

"I thought you said you would be honest with me, Draco." He leveled a look. "I have heard of your time spent with Miss Granger before this incident. On the quidditch pitch?" He said. Draco paled slightly.

"I said I'd try to be honest..." He murmured. "And I just...I thought it might be better if she spent less time with Potter and Weasely." Malfoy said, shrugging, "After all, she is the brains of their group. Potter and Weasely can't get away with nearly as much without her."

"You are still lying to me, Draco." Snape said coolly, "Do I need to retrieve the _Veritaserum_?"

Malfoy blanched.

"No Professor." He whispered, his throat going dry. He glanced out the door silently for a moment. Snape remained silent, waiting.  
"I...found her trying to fly." Draco let out a quiet laugh, remembering her awkwardness, "And she was just...so stubborn." He sighed, looking everywhere but at his teacher. "So I gave her a little help." He continued, finally meeting Snape's eyes. "And I just...continued helping her. I didn't think she could learn much from Potter and Weasely." He said with annoyance. Snape sighed.

"Draco..." He murmured with a tinge of sympathy. Malfoy looked at him in surprise. "You can't spend time with her like that. What if your father were to hear of this?" Snape said, his tone changing to stern. Fear crossed Draco's face.

"Don't tell him. Please?" He said, "I don't want...I don't want anything to..." He looked away, "Anything to happen to her."

The room was quiet as Snape stared into space. He was remembering another girl. A muggle born girl...who meant a lot to him. He looked back at Draco.

"I will not mention it to your father." He said, his face unreadable. Draco looked up, startled.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because...I..." He sighed, not knowing how much to reveal to Draco, despite the fact that he was his godson. He frowned. "Let us just say I know a bit about how you are behaving myself." He said mysteriously. Malfoy blinked, processing.

"You...you've been in a similar situation?" Malfoy said, astonished. Snape sighed.

"I did not say that."

"But it's true, isn't it?" Malfoy pressed.

"Yes. A slightly similar situation." Snape allowed. Malfoy stared.

"Who?"  
"That is certainly none of your business." Snape said coldly. Malfoy shrugged.

"Just curious." He glanced towards the door again.

"You seem eager to leave." Snape said stiffly. Malfoy glanced at his favorite teacher and smiled slightly.

"I was going to go see her."

"She is quite close to Potter and Weasely." Snape said acidly. "That does not bode well for your desire to spend time with her..." He knew that  
Potter boys had a history of ruining Slytherins' chances with Gryffindor women.

"I know that." Draco grumbled, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying."

The pair stood, sharing some unspoken bond. They both knew what it was like to care for someone they shouldn't. Someone they couldn't have.

_Except..._thought Snape..._This time it could be different._

"You are dismissed, Draco." Snape said, turning away. Malfoy hesitated for a moment before he slowly left the room.

He looked both ways down the hallway to see if he could determine which way they would have gone. He started towards where he was pretty sure what the Gryffindor common room. It was in tower somewhere on one of the top floors, if he could remember right.

He paused at the top of the sixth flight of stairs, trying to catch his breath. Man, how did those Gryffindor's do it? He glanced up ahead to see a small form in robes hurrying up the next flight of stairs.

"Hey! You up there!" He called. The person stopped, and looked back down.

"Yes?" came a high pitched voice. Probably a first or second year, Draco figured.

"I'm looking for Potter's gang. Have you seen them?" He asked. The person left out a squeak of excitement.

"They're out at the quidditch pitch. The team is having practice. I'm just running up to get my camera. Don't want to miss anything! Did you see what Hermione's wearing? Everyone's talking about it." He said. Draco rolled his eyes. Her stupid friends hadn't let her come change clothes?  
He didn't bother thanking the small person as he turned around and went back down six flights of stairs.

When he finally got outside to the pitch, there were some people in the stands. And two of the girls were arguing.

"I'm sorry! I didn't realize they weren't your clothes!" yelled the redheaded one, "Your dormitory is set up differently than mine."

"Then whose clothes am I wearing??" Hermione exclaimed. Ginny shrugged.

"My guess, with how they fit you, is they're probably Lavender's."

"And fixing my hair?" Hermione questioned. Ginny sighed.

"Okay...I may have realized they weren't your clothes. But I thought you might have fun looking different. You don't normally mess with your hair...but it looks good, doesn't it?" Her expression was sheepish. "I just wanted to help look good and feel good about yourself in a confusing time." Hermione sighed.

"Well. I guess I can't be mad at you. It just..." She blushed. "The bra is too small." Ginny burst out laughing.

"Yeah, but it looks good." She said with a smirk. Draco stopped, looking at the pair. Ginny glanced over at a blond girl sitting near them and starting talking to her. Hermione looked up and met Draco's eyes. She hesitated until Draco motioned for her, then she got up and slowly walked towards him. Ginny saw, but didn't say anything.

"Hello." Hermione said quietly.

"Hey." Draco replied. The awkward silence spread between them. Hermione sighed.

"So I asked Harry and Ron about how you were treating me at the end of class, and they said that's how you really are."

"Really?" Draco replied, glancing up at the Gryffindor's in the air with disdain. He looked back at Hermione, "Do you believe them?"

"I don't know. You were...so nice to me before. And the..." She blushed.

"Snogging?" He supplied with a naughty grin. She blushed even further.

"Yes. That didn't feel like you were faking." She said with a shrug, "So now I don't know what to think."

"Old habits die hard." He said, his forehead scrunching up a moment as he realized that it was a muggle expression. Then his face relaxed.

"Can I show you something?"

"Um. Sure." Hermione agreed. He smiled, then pulled out his wand.

"Accio Firebolt!" He called out and Hermione jumped in surprise. Then she looked around wildly, waiting for something to happen.

All was quiet.

Until suddenly, she heard a distance wooshing sound, and she looked up into the sky. She could see some sort of object zooming towards them from Hogwarts.

The broom settled itself right into Draco's free hand and he smiled wildly at Hermione. She gave him a smile back.

"Where did you learn that?" She asked, dazed. He looked away. He did not want to say Potter in fourth year...

"Uh. Charms class." He replied nonchalantly.

"That is neat." She agreed, then turned away, as if to go sit down. Draco grabbed her arm.

"That isn't what I was going to show you." He said, leveling the broom and sliding a leg over it. "Come here." He said softly, pulling her closer. She complied, moving in front of him. "Now just...sit on the broom. You can face me, if it would make you more comfortable."

"I think...I think I'll have to sit...'side-saddle' with this skirt." She said with embarrassment. Draco nodded.

"Probably."

She sat in front of him, facing his chest and looking up at his face.

"You are going to love this." He said, then kicked off hard.

She shrieked in terror.

_

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_

_Hopefully that'll hold you over for a little bit. I'm working on a new chapter all this weekend! Hopefully it'll be up by Monday! Though...with enough reviews, it may be faster! :-)_


	9. The Trick of Flight

_Note: Obviously it's been awhile. I'd make excuses, but I'm too old for that now. Sorry this is short. Honestly, this chapter took way too long to push out. My easy, enjoyable writing seems to have fled. But some of the recent reviews and messages I've received really touched me and I felt I owed you guys something._  
_Hopefully I can manage some addition soon, if only the wrap the story up._  
_**  
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**Chapter Nine: The Trick of Flight**

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Draco pulled the broom up to a sharp stop, looking at Hermione with concern.

"Granger? Are you okay?" He asked. She stared up at him with wide eyes.

"I just...I wasn't expecting that." She murmured. She looked down at the ground and quickly looked back up. "Wow. That's a long way down." A tinge of fear crept into her voice. Draco smiled

"It's okay, I promise. I won't drop you." He moved the broom forward a couple inches. Her hands flew to his neck and tightened. He shook his head with amusement "You never change." She didn't respond.

He stayed out of the pitch, where the other students were practicing, and contented himself with flying around the perimeter. After about three laps, Hermione started to relax slightly, releasing her death grip on Draco and leaning back slightly. She look around, seeing the whole of the grounds.

"Wow. It's so beautiful." She murmured, "I can't believe I could forget a place like this."

"It sure is." Draco replied, though he was looking at the witch in front of him. After another couple minutes, he headed back down to the ground. "I hope that makes you feel a little more comfortable with me." He said, helping her off the broom before he shouldered it. She smiled softly.

"I feel like there's this great tension lifted from you, from me, when we're up there."

"Like old animosity and politics don't matter." Draco filled in. She nodded.

"Draco!" shrilled a familiar voice. The blond spun around to see Pansy glaring at him, "We need to talk." She crossed her arms and stood patiently. Malfoy hesitated, glancing at Hermione. She smiled.

"Go ahead. I'll be fine. I'll just watch the practice." She motioned to the Gryffindors still flying above them. Draco nodded and Pansy reached out, snatching one of his arms and dragging him off.

"She never changes."

Hermione blinked at the dark-haired young man who had just appeared on her left. "Who never changes?" She asked.

"Pans. She's always commanding Draco to do something." He replied with a chuckle. Hermione gave him a blank look. "I'm Blaise. We met earlier. In potions."

"Oh yes! I apologize." She said with a slight blush, recalling his kiss on her hand. He grinned.

"I wanted to offer you a brief tour of Hogwarts. No doubt I'm the first." He said gallantly. Hermione broke into a smile.

"You are actually. How kind. I've been wanting to wander around, since it looks so exciting."

"Well then; allow me." He offered his arm and she blushed again before taking it and allowing him to lead her back towards the large castle.

* * *

"This is gorgeous…" murmured Hermione, whirling around the open area of the library. The bookcases hugged along the walls like a perfectly fitted dress and it gave the brunette girl a sense of comfort.

Zabini leaned against one of the solid tables, reveling in his own excellent idea. He had a feeling the Gryffindor bookworm would enjoy seeing the library.

She suddenly ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. His eyes went wide.

"Thank you. This place, out of the entire school, feels the most like home. I can't thank you enough for showing it to me." She pulled back and gave him a wide grin, eyes sparkling. He stared openly at her for a moment. She looked gorgeous, glowing like this. He couldn't help but take advantage as he leaned towards her, his eyes intent on her lips.

Pansy sighed as Draco looked at her warily.

"Draco, I'm just worried about your parents finding out. Don't look at me like that. She sat next to me in Potions….it was sort of awkwardly adorable." Pansy said with a half-shrug, "I'm just trying to make sure you don't get dragged to Dumstrang to avoid 'fraternizing with mudbloods'."

"Don't call her that." Draco hissed.

"Oh hush. I don't mean it in a specific sense towards Granger. Just the term your own parents will use. Plus, you're the one who was a complete dick to her at the end of Potions."

They meandered around the halls of Hogwarts Draco telling Pansy the story of flying with Granger. It didn't take for them to reach the library. There was enough of a lull in their discussion for Draco to hear familiar voices from the library.

"I can't thank you enough for showing this to me." It sounded like Hermione's voice. Draco glanced in the doorway.

Blaise's lips descended onto the brunette and his arm slipped to her waist.

Draco heard Pansy gasp in surprise from next to him as his vision turned red. He stepped quickly into the room.

It was only a brief moment before Hermione pulled back, her expression horrified.

"No." She said firmly. Draco stopped and remained silent, watching her gaze harden as she stared at Blaise. He turned bright red, "You misunderstood me entirely. I was just...thankful that you showed the library."

He shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"Yeah. Sorry. I knew that. I just...you looked really happy. I'm an idiot."

"I couldn't agree more." Draco cut in. Hermione whirled around, her eyes wide. Blaise met Draco's eyes coolly.

"How'd your talk go, Pans?" He questioned, while staring Draco down. Pansy sighed.

"Fine. I didn't think you were going to be that much of a bloody idiot, Blaise."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Draco hissed. Blaise rolled his eyes and glanced down at Hermione for a second.

"I am sorry Hermione. I really didn't mean to kiss you. I was just going to be nice and actually treat you like a person by showing you around. Considering Draco here has decided to just be an ass unless you're near a broom."

"What the fuck, Blaise?" Draco growled, stepping closer. It was Pansy who put her arm on his shoulder.

"He's right, Draco. You're telling me about this amazing girl at the lake the other day, then run off after Granger. I'm not stupid. But the way to talked to her after Potions was ridiculous. We're almost done with school. We're grown-ups now. Stop acting like a twelve-year-old and man up." She said. Hermione let a smile slip out.

"Why aren't we friends?" She said with a chuckled. Pansy's expression twisted.

"Well. That stupid twelve-year-old behavior only recently became obviously stupid to me...but I don't want to get a job where I'll have to worry about the people I treated like shit in school. I want a job where people respect and listen to me." She held out a hand to Hermione, "I'd be happy to be friends now."

Hermione shook it, "Happy to be your friend, Pansy." She glance back at Blaise, "And I'd still like to be friends, as long as you don't plan on more of that."

"Definitely not. As funny as watching Draco spontaneously combusting would be..." He said, tilting his head in pretend contemplation. Malfoy relaxed with a low laugh.

"All right. You guys are right. I was an ass." He looked at Hermione and she shyly met his gaze, "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He asked, moving closer to her. One of his hands went up and brushed her hair back. "I should have said something about this clothing trick they did. Though your hair does look extra...fantastic." A smile graced her face.

"Thank you. I forgive you. You did rescue me, after all." She said with a twinkle in her eye. He tangled his hand deeper in her hair and used it to pull her closer, his face drifting closer to her.

The chemistry and attraction rose and curled its tendrils around them as their lips touched again. And again.

Pansy and Blaise slipped out of the room, giving each other a mutual look of triumph.


End file.
